The Legacy
by b e f r e e
Summary: Best friends are fleeting, but Marauders are forever. It takes seven years to build a friendship, and a single day to break it. Remus-central. MWPP. R&R!
1. A Beautiful Mistake

Title: The Legacy,

By: b e f r e e

Summary: Best friends are fleeting, but Marauders are forever. It takes seven years to build a friendship, and a single day to break it. MWPP

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter or Harry Potter related. It's all JKR's. If I owned it, I'd have something better to do than write fanfiction.

Warnings: **Spoilers!** For all books, including Deathly Hallows. Rating will be M in later chapters.

A/N: Please **Read **and **Review**! If there are any spelling/grammar mistakes you notice, tell me please so I can correct them. Thanks! Also, it starts a little slow, but I promise it gets better as it goes on. I'm trying to keep it as close to cannon as possible. I'm rewriting this as I post it, so expect regular updates for a while. Enjoy!

**The Legacy  
**

**Chapter One**

The day started out slowly as he got out of bed late and wandered downstairs in his pajamas, still tired but unable to sleep anymore for the sunlight in his eyes and the lateness of the day. The house was empty and quiet, and the dishes chinked on the countertops louder than they should have as he made himself breakfast and sat down at the rickety kitchen table to eat. He was only eleven, but his pale face was already stressed and his eyes were worn dull. It didn't help that his light brown hair was in a messy mop on his head, not yet combed.

The boy jumped, spilling his cereal when he heard a sharp _tap, tap, tap, _on the window above the sink, and he blinked at the sight of a very large, brown bird outside. It was a barn owl perched on his windowsill in the bright morning light of July, with a thick envelope tied to its leg.

He groaned at the mess he had made, and went to open the window and let the creature inside. As if it were an everyday occurrence to find a letter-carrying owl outside your house, he took the message from it and fed it a handful of dry cereal before he pet its beak and sent it back into the open. He cleaned up the soggy floor, and finally glanced at the letter, and his brown eyes went wide at the familiar crest across the parchment. He ripped it open and scanned the hand-written words.

_Dear Remus Lupin,_

_I am pleased to tell you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I do not usually write to my students personally, but I wanted to meet with you personally to discuss your circumstances. If I could please arrange a meeting with yourself and your parents this evening, at 5:00 in my office at Hogwarts, it would be greatly appreciated. Please send your answer as soon as possible._

_Sincerely, _

_Albus Dumbledore, _

_Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

The letter fell from his limp hands and landed softly on the damp floor.

There was some mistake.

- - - - -

He sat in a corner of a train compartment by himself, pretending to read a rather thick and beat-up textbook. He was really looking out of the window at the people passing back and forth. There were all sorts of witches and wizards, mostly students exchanging greeting to their friends after a long summer away from school or saying their goodbyes to their parents. Some of the youngest children were being showered in hugs and kisses, coddled by their parents, and others were being reprimanded to do well and stay out of mischief. He watched with disinterest as a girl argued with what appeared to be her sister, who was apparently a muggle and didn't seem to want her to leave.

The boy sighed, and turned back to the book, staring unfocusedly at the letters on the page. His parents were both alive and well enough, but they were dirt poor, and consequently had had to work and not been able to bring him to platform nine and three-quarters, so he had come alone on the Knight Bus instead.

"Er – Hello," a timid voice said, as someone appeared in the doorway to the compartment. "Would you mind if I sat here?"

"Not at all."

The relief on the boy's round face was immediate and obvious. "I'm Peter Pettigrew," he said, with a bit more confidence.

"Remus Lupin," he replied politely. "Are you a first-year as well?"

He nodded. Peter had dirty blonde hair and blue eyes, and, like Remus himself, was already dressed in his Hogwarts robes. Peter looked like a shy boy, and didn't particularly stand out, but he was far from unpleasant.

"So," Peter said, "What house do you think you'll be in?"

Remus shrugged, "Ravenclaw, most likely, but I suppose it's hard to tell. And you?"

"I'm not sure," he said. "I won't be in Ravenclaw because I'm not smart enough, I wont be in Gryffindor because I'm a chicken, and I don't _want _to be in Huffelpuff, so I'm hoping for Slytherin."

Remus smiled politely at the boy as the train began to move, and looked out at the platform flying past, trying to think of something to make conversation. He was spared the trouble when a girl poked her head inside the compartment. "Um. Hi," she smiled, "Can I sit here?"

"Of course," Remus smiled. The girl was a first-year as well, and both he and Peter helped her put her trunk in the luggage rack. She looked very down-to-Earth, and was fairly short, with straight brown hair and blue eyes.

"I'm Dorcas Meadows, just call me Dorrie, please," she introduced, and the boys gave their names in reply. "Are you nervous about school?" she asked the two of them.

Peter shrugged. "I'm not the brainy type," he admitted.

"A little," Remus smiled. "My mother is a muggle, and I sort of grew up with a little of both worlds. Now I don't know what I'll do without the television and the phone, or my stereo."

"You have electricity in your house? That's so cool!" Dorrie said. "Do you have a car and stuff too?"

"Well, yes, but my father charmed it so much that it's completely unrecognizable as a muggle car anymore. It jumps ahead in traffic and the like. You're from a wizarding family, then?"

"Yes. I think the muggles have fascinating technology, though. They have artificial lights that they put on just by flipping a switch, since they can't cast_ lumos_, and they don't owl, so they just send letters by putting them by the curb in little boxes!"

Remus laughed. "Yeah, my mother still doesn't like to owl people. She insists that it's 'weird' and sends them by muggle post. She's raving mad."

They chatted for a bit as the train began to move, and Dorcas Meadows was turning out to be an interesting girl. She wasn't exceptionally pretty or girly, but she was smart, and that was something Remus liked in people. It must have been his nerd-like tendencies showing through again.

Remus soon retreated back to his book, and they continued the train ride in relative peace for a few minutes, in which Peter stared out the window and Dorrie pulled out a magazine. They were interrupted again when they heard a commotion outside and, upon opening the door, found a girl with long, dark red hair stomping up the corridor, with a boy in tow. She stopped when she found the compartment open, and looked at Remus. "Hello," she said sweetly, her voice giving away only a hint of her apparent anger, "I'm Lily Evans. Do you think we could sit with you? We had a bit of a disagreement with the people in the compartment we _were_ in."

Remus smiled, and politely invited the two strangers in. The girl was very pretty, although she looked as if she had been crying, but the boy she was with looked sour, and his black eyes glanced suspiciously at each of the people in the compartment in turn. He creeped Remus out a bit. Like a creature that had been kept in the dark for too long, his skin was pallid and he was sickly thin. His Hogwarts robes billowed out behind him menacingly, but on second glance Remus saw just how closely they clung to him, outlining a frail frame.

"I'm Dorrie Meadows."

"I'm Remus Lupin, and this is Peter something-or-rather," he said, as they sat down. "I can't really remember."

The black-haired boy frowned at Peter's motionless, snoring form, and looked back to Remus. "Severus Snape," he introduced himself tersely.

"So...what happened that you're already into fights with your classmates?" Dorrie asked, seemingly unaware that it could be seen as something rude to say.

Lily grimaced. "Well, two absolute, arrogant _prats_ decided to resort to insulting us. And _what_ is Slytherin, by the way?" she added, looking to Snape questioningly.

"Oh, Merlin, I didn't even get to tell you yet. Hogwarts has four houses. We'll be sorted tonight, as it's our first year, and you spend all you time in that house. There's Ravenclaw for the geeks, Huffelpuff for the cowards Gryffindor for the arrogant, and Slytherin of course," he finished, "Is the best house of them all."

"Why do they have such silly names?"

"They're named after the Hogwarts founders," Remus said, and Lily's full attention was on him now. "And you should know that you are sorted according to what each founder considered important qualities in a person. Rowena Ravenclaw valued intelligence so maybe that makes Ravenclaws geeks, Helga Huffelpuff valued loyalty above all and it has nothing to do with cowardice, Godric Gryffindor thought that bravery was most important although some misinterpret it as arrogance, and Salazar Slytherin believed that purity of blood was the priority."

"What do you mean by 'purity'? Severus, you told me something like that before, right?"

"Pure-blood," Snape nodded jerkily, "Pure _wizarding_ blood."

"But don't you _have_ to be a witch or wizard to get into Hogwarts? That's why Tuney was rejected!" Lily seemed utterly confused.

Remus smiled. "Don't worry. It's a bunch of nonsense. Pureblood just means that your family has been magical for generations. Half bloods have one muggle or parent or grandparent on either side, and muggleborns are children of two muggles. You're muggle-born, I'll suppose, or raised by muggles at the very least. My mother is a muggle, and she told me that it took her about a year after she married my father to get used to the idea of magic. You should adjust fair enough."

"Does it matter what your blood is?"

"Yes."

"No."

Snape and Remus replied at once, and Lily and Dorrie each glanced between the two. Remus cleared his throat. "No," he repeated, "Although some purebloods seem to think that they are, for some idiotic reason, superior to others."

Snape, sneering at Remus, stood up and left the compartment without a word.

Dorrie took it upon herself to end the tense atmosphere of the compartment, and spoke to Lily, "I'll explain things better later. Even if we're not in the same house, find me sometime, alright?" she smiled.

Lily smiled back, glad for the distraction. "Okay." She seemed to know nothing about the wizarding world, but enjoyed learning about it.

"Alright, who wants to play Exploding Snap?" Dorrie suggested.

"What's that?"

It was a long train ride. Snape disappeared and reappeared at odd intervals, but came back to find Lily every once in a while. Remus, Peter, and Dorrie taught Lily to play Exploding Snap, and introduced her to Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Botts Beans as the afternoon wore on. Lily, it appeared, had already read every textbook cover to cover, but knew nothing about practical magic or everyday, common knowledge of the wizarding world. Remus and Dorrie were more than happy to help her, though, and they ended up talking more than playing cards.

Remus took to both Lily and Dorrie, and he supposed even Peter was alright, but as he chewed on a Pumpkin Pasty, he reminded himself that he shouldn't be making friends so easily.

"Look," Lily said suddenly, looking out the window, "We're slowing down."

They all stood up nervously, and went into the corridor, which was beginning to fill up with students as the conductor announced that they were approaching Hogwarts. "Where's Severus?" Lily muttered, distracted, as she tried to crane over the many taller heads around her.

"You'll find him," Remus assured. "But you might be split up soon anyways, if you're in different houses."

She nodded, glumly, and they slowly filed off of the train onto the platform. It was nearly dark now, but a large lamp was swinging high above their heads, in the hand of an enormous man whose hairy face was lit up, waving people his way and calling out, "Firs' years! Come wit' me, now!"

Remus, Dorrie, Peter, and Lily fought their way over to him, and they joined the cluster of shorter students around him. "Y'all here?" he said, and quickly scanned the clearing platform. Lily found Snape, and pulled him over quickly. "Alright, my name's Rubeus Hagrid," the giant man said. "I'm the groundskeeper here at Hogwarts, so welcome! Now follow me."

Hagrid led them down a pathway that must have been through the Forbidden Forest, and down to a clear, flat spot where the ground met the lake. No one was paying the least bit of attention to the lake, however, but they were instead focused on the magnificent castle atop the cliffs. Remus noted that one particularly large part was lit up brightly, and there seemed to be movement inside judging by the flickering of the light at the bottom of the great windows. The domed roof atop the place was topped with a statue of a bird that Remus could only just make out, silhouetted against the darkening sky.

"It's beautiful," he heard Lily say beside him. "It's the biggest castle I've ever _seen_!"

"Muggles can't make a place like this," Remus said to her, smiling. "It's held up by magic. And they can't see it either. It's ruins to them."

"They can't? So Tuney really _couldn't_ come here?"

"Who?"

"My sister. She's not a witch."

"Then I'm afraid not."

Remus glanced over, and noticed that Snape was watching him closely, and instead turned his attention to the boats sitting along the edge of the water.

"Four to each!" Hagrid told them, climbing into one, which was too small for even himself alone.

Lily and Dorrie climbed into one, with Snape following Lily, and Remus let Peter take the last spot in their boat, climbing into one nearby with three others in it.

"Hi there!" one boy said.

"Hello," Remus replied. He couldn't see him very well in the darkness, so they settled for not talking as Hagrid sent the little boats across the lake. "I want to see the squid," the boy in front of Remus was saying, craning his neck to look into the black waters.

"Don't tip the boat over, James. My cousins say it's out all the time. You can come down tomorrow and see it."

The one called James gave a childish pout and settled reluctantly back into his seat.

They stumbled back onto the ground once they had sailed under the cliffs the castle was set upon, and entered a pair of cavernous doors. There was a set of large, wide stone stairs, at the top of which the first-years found an aging woman with brown-gray hair in tartan robes. She waited until there was dead silence to speak. "Good evening, and welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," she said crisply, "I am Professor McGonogall, Transfiguration professor, Deputy Headmistress, and Head of Gryffindor House." She quickly explained the houses and told them that they would be sorted in front of he school. "Please follow me," she said, and led them in a line, into the Hall.

Remus was too nervous to even care about what the place looked like, but he did notice the ceiling, which Lily Evans was staring at.

"Where's the roof?" she whispered to Snape beside her.

"It's there. It's just a charm to look like the sky," he answered, amused. Remus shifted his feet slightly, his palms sweating as he wondered what they did to be sorted. McGonogall had placed a stool and hat in the middle of the floor and brought out a roll of parchment. The hall went silent, and then, to the amazement of the first-years, the hat on the stool began to sing.

"I think I've gone mad," Lily whispered from beside him.

"Absolutely," Remus replied, laughing lightly. "This is odd even by wizarding standards. Not that it's hard to do, I'm sure, it's just that a singing hat is ridiculous."

"Glad you think so too."

Remus listened to the singing, and realized that they were sorted by putting on the hat. He watched as the hat went quiet and McGonogall stepped forward, reading the first name on her list. "Avery, Scott."

The boy walked forward and looked around the hall once before he sat down and put the hat on. There was dead silence from the hundreds of students and teachers in the Great Hall as they all stared at him for a little more than a minute. "SLYTHERIN!" The hat announced loudly, and there was a thunder of applause and calls from the last table.

"Anderson, Marc," McGonogall read. Remus began to look around the hall for the next few names, as Bessemer was sorted into Huffelpuff, and two twin girls by the name of Belford were sorted into Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

"Black, Sirius."

Remus looked up to find the boy who had been in the boat with him, next to James. He was one of the tallest first-years there, and had rather long black hair that was beginning to fall into his eyes.

People were beginning to whisper and murmur, and suddenly, the boy upon the stool grinned and the hat announced, "GRYFFINDOR!"

There was wave of cheers from the red and gold table, but the rest of the Hall was buzzing.

"_What_?"

"That _can't_ be!"

"Is he really one of _the_ Blacks?"

Remus knew of the Black family, of course. They were one of the oldest pureblooded wizarding lines in the world, and generations upon generations of them had all been in Slytherin, and sustained a strict practice of marrying purebloods and hating anyone else.

"Good for him," a first-year nearby said, "Maybe _this_ one won't turn out evil."

Someone else behind him whispered, "Traitor."

McGonogall cleared her throat, raising a single hand, and the Hall went silent again as she began to read names. When Lily was called up, the girl was shaking as she lifted the hat.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Remus didn't think it had even touched her head, but she made her way quickly off of the stage, glancing at Snape as she walked toward the Gryffindor table.

Several names were called before McGonogall once again consulted her list and said, "Lupin, Remus."

He felt Dorrie's hand squeeze his shoulder and urged him forward with a not-so-gentle nudge toward the stage.

Remus took a steadying breath and walked up to the stool, his palms sweating. He didn't like being in front of this many people at all. He placed the hat upon his head, and almost jumped when it began to speak.

"Remus," the hat said, "You've had a tough time, haven't you? You are the first werewolf I've ever sorted, and certainly the first one I've ever sorted into GRYFFINDOR!"

Remus sighed in relief as he removed the hat and went toward the screaming, red and gold table.

"Macdonald, Mary...Mulciber, John," McGonogall continued.

Remus wasn't paying attention as he was sorted, and was instead greeted by Lily, who hugged him lightly and made him sit down next to her. "Thank you!" she said. "I was afraid I would be stuck with _this_ guy!" She jerked a thumb toward the person beside her. "Severus is disappointed I'm not in Slytherin," she added, glancing up at him.

The only other first-year there was the black-haired boy. "Hey there, I'm Sirius Black," he grinned.

"Remus Lupin." He meant to say more, but the table erupted around them, as Marlene McKinnon was sorted into Gryffindor, and his attention went back to the sorting.

"Meadows, Dorcas."

Remus and Lily smiled as Marlene sat down with them, and watched Dorrie hobble up to the hat.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

They also gained "Pettigrew, Peter," who was visibly shaking, even from their distance, and "Potter, James," after that.

"Alright, James!" Sirius grinned, as the boy with short, messy black hair and glasses sat down across fro him.

"What did I tell you, mate?"

"It's Severus," Lily said suddenly, as "Rosier, Evan," walked over to the Slytherin table.

"SLYTHERIN!" She watched as Snape joined the far table, and a tall blonde prefect clapped him on the shoulders.

"It's alright," Remus said, smiling, "Dorrie and I will keep you company."

She seemed to brighten up a little. "You're right."

The last few students were sorted, and as McGonogall took the hat and stool away, the headmaster rose.

Remus had met Albus Dumbledore personally, only once, to discuss his admission into Hogwarts. The man was insane, his mother had later declared, although even she had to admit that he was an extremely _kind_ mental patient. The headmaster was over a hundred years old, with long hair and a long beard, and wore pale yellow robes. He looked out at the students through his half-moon glasses and smiled. "Welcome to Hogwarts," he said. "I'm willing to bet that nearly half of you are halfway to being nearly as half-starved as myself, so for now, let us eat!"

When they entered Gryffindor tower and ascended to the dormitory that night, the boys found their possessions sitting by the door. "I call the bed in the middle!" James said, and launched himself into the hangings. Sirius laughed and took the bed next to that, and Remus took the one on the other side, next to the window. Peter didn't even bother to undress before he flung himself down onto his pillows and was snoring within minutes. Sirius wasn't far behind him.

Remus kicked his shoes off at the foot of his bed and shed his uniform, and wandered into the bathroom with a toothbrush.

"Hey," James said, standing in front of the mirror washing his face, "Do you know anything about that Pettigrew kid?"

Remus glanced out, and shrugged. "He seems okay, I guess. I sat with him on the train. There's nothing to really say about him."

"He looks a bit nerd-ish."

"Doesn't seem particularly bright, though," Remus added quietly. "But I don't know him."

"I suppose," James shrugged. "I hope these two lumps don't always sleep this loudly," he smirked.

Remus agreed, because they were both snoring rather loudly. "Maybe I can try to cast a silencing charm."

"Do you know the spell?"

Remus fished his wand out of his pocket and gave it a fluid sweep, "_Silencio_," he said, and to his surprise, Sirius' snoring stopped. He spelled Peter's bed as well, and sat down on his own soft, warm blankets. James shut the lid on his trunk and flopped down as well.

"So, where are you from?"

"London. You?"

"Devon."

"I have an aunt out there."

"Anyone I know?"

"Nah, she's a muggle," Remus said, as he pulled out a book.

"You're not going to sleep?"

"I'm not tired," Remus shrugged.

"Even after all that food?" James grinned. Remus had eaten four plates plus dessert and had still been eating his pudding when Dumbledore dismissed them. "Goodnight, then," James said, as he shut his hangings.

"Goodnight."

- - - - -

Please Review! Thanks!


	2. The Merciless Moon

Title: The Legacy

By: b e f r e e

Summary: Best friends are fleeting, but Marauders are forever. It takes seven years to build a friendship, and a single day to break it.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter or Harry Potter related. It's all JKR's. If I owned it, I'd have something better to do than write fanfiction.

Warnings: **Spoilers!** For all books, including Deathly Hallows.

A/N: Please **Read **and **Review**!

**The Legacy**

**Chapter Two**

When Remus got up, he found that only Sirius was still in the room, and that they had a half-hour until classes. Cursing himself, Remus shook Sirius awake and went to shower. When he stepped back out of the bathroom ten minutes later, James and Peter were back also.

"Here," James said, "I got your schedule for you."

Remus smiled. "Thanks." He looked over it and saw that they had Transfiguration and potions before lunch and a free period, then Charms in the late afternoon. He began to throw his books in the brand new schoolbag his parents had bought him, and carefully tucked a pot of ink and some quills and parchment into the leather bag.

"I hate ties," Sirius was complaining as he stood in front of the mirror. He gave up after a few minutes, and scowled at the mirror.

"We're going to head down," James said, going over to the door with Peter following behind him.

"Yeah, yeah...How do you tie these things?" Remus flicked his wand at Sirius, and the red and gold striped tie arranged itself perfectly. "Oh. Thanks."

"No problem. Hey," he said suddenly, looking at the window, "Is that yours?" As he opened the window, he noticed that the large black owl was carrying a red letter. "A Howler?"

Sirius ripped it off of the bird and grabbed his wand.

"Silencio!" Sirius hissed, but it didn't work. The Howler began to build up steam, and it was only seconds before it exploded. "Incendio! Silencio! Incendio!" Remus covered his ears, but it wasn't much use.

A woman's shrill, piercing voice slashed out at him. "SIRIUS BLACK! YOU FILTHY, TRAITOROUS GRYFFINDOR! HOW DARE YOU GO AGAINST TRADITION OF THE NOBLE NAME OF BLACK AND THE SLYTHERIN HOUSE! DON'T YOU THINK ABOUT COMING BACK, AND WE MAY CONSIDER ALLOWING YOU TO RESIDE IN A SECONDARY ESTATE FOR THE SUMMER. DO NOT BEFRIEND THE DIRTY, BLOOD-TRAITOR GRYFFINDOR HALF-BREEDS, OR ANY MUD WHO ASSOCIATES WITH THEM!" The voice paused for a moment, and added, "AND DON'T DARE SPEAK TO YOUR COUSINS! YOU'LL MUD UP THEIR GOOD, PURE**SLYTHERIN** BLOOD!" She finished with venom, and there was a slight pause before she added, still quite loudly, "Signed, Walburga Black."

"Silencio! Silencio! Silencio!" Black finally just threw his wand at the letter as it finished, narrowly missing Remus' head.

"Good Merlin! Who is that woman?"

"My dearestmother," he scowled. He retrieved his wand from the floor and picked up his bag. "I'm going to breakfast," he said, and left, slamming the door behind him.

Remus stared after him and picked up his own things to go downstairs, but the door opened as he reached for the handle. Sirius scratched the back of his head, grinning, "You don't remember where the Great Hall is, by any chance, do you?"

Remus laughed weakly. "Not really."

He decided not to question his sudden change in demeanor or his apparently evil mother as they wandered into the maze of corridors.

- - - - -

The first day of classes went fair enough, as did the next three weeks, and Remus was settling into his life at Hogwarts. He was doing well in his classes, and getting used to being able to use magic everyday. James, Sirius, and Peter were becoming good companions to him, (companions, only, because he refused to let himself be attached to friends.) James had a bit of a run-in with Severus Snape and his Slytherin friends two weeks into school, and they had all gotten detention for fist fighting in the Charms corridor. Remus, although he was the thinnest of them all, had gotten the best punch in, and only half regretted it because he knew Dumbledore would be disappointed, but he loathed Snape to much to truly care. James had sworn revenge, even though he had already earned half of his days there in detention for fighting and speaking out-of-turn in classes, especially with he Slytherins.

Remus sat reading in the library with Dorcas Meadows, who was doing an essay for Potions when James came in. He looked around briefly, running a hand through his messy hair, and spotted them.

"Remus," he grinned.

"What do you want?"

"What makes you think I want anything?" he asked innocently.

Dorrie giggled.

"I'm sorry," James said, smiling charmingly at her, "I'm interrupting your studies. I'm afraid I'll just have to steal your dear Remus. I promise to return him soon," he added, and picked up Remus' books and bag. "Let's go!"

"Hey!"

James looked back at him, and ran.

"Get back here!"

The librarian, a thin, middle-aged blonde witch, looked affronted as two boys bolted through her library. "BOYS!" she cried, but they were already gone, and Dorcas was laughing as she went back to her essay.

"What in Merlin's name is wrong with you?" Remus caught up to James, who was now leaning against the wall and flipping through his books.

"Dark creatures?" he inquired, as Remus ripped the text off of him. "Thinking about a pet?"

"Why did you do that? Mme Dupont isn't going to let me back into the library for days, you prat!"

"Good! Maybe you'll get a tan if you stay out of there and come join us in the light once in a while!" James laughed.

Remus couldn't help but crack a small smile. "What do you want?" he asked, resignedly.

"Well, you're the smart one of our group, so I thought I should ask you for help with this," he began. "I mean, you're really the only person I could-"

"What's the problem, you bloody sycophant."

James blinked. "'Sycophant?'" He shook himself, and disregarded what he assumed to be an insult. "Never mind. I was wondering if you knew a spell to color someone's hair."

Remus looked at him warily. "Why?"

"Because, Snape is being a bloody git and he's been hanging around our common room lately, and the other day he tired to hex me with a bat-boogey hex and got Peter instead."

Remus laughed. "Alright. Stand still," he said, as he drew his wand, muttering a spell quietly and drawing his wand in a single circular motion. "The key is to visualize the exact color in your mind and be able to see it on the person. And make sure your movements are very flowing...like this." He watched with a grin as turquoise began to spread from the roots of James' locks. He conjured a mirror and held it up.

"Take it off! Take it off!" he cried.

Remus laughed. "What? Would you rather pink hair?"

"Please? C'mon, Remus!"

He didn't remove the spell until they had reached the Tower, where he taught James how to perform it. They were using Peter for practice as the boy sat, unsuspecting, and stressing over a Transfiguration essay due the next day.

"Like this?" He whispered the spell, and Peter's hair began to turn pink. He kept on reading, chewing the end of his quill absently and scratching down a sentence or two every once in a while.

"You're brilliant, mate," James grinned. "Thanks a load. And I suppose I'm sorry about breaking up your little date with Dorcas."

"Dorcas is a friend, Potter," Remus said. "Nothing more."

"I'm just saying," James, grinned, "You looked pretty cozy." When Remus ignored him, James said, "Hey, since you taught me the spell, do you want to go teach Snape a lesson?"

"I'm not going to get detention for some stupid grudge of yours."

"Neither am I," he grinned. "Look," he glanced around the common room once, and motioned to the stairs, where he pulled something out of his bag. It was cloth, and it had a strange silvery shimmer to it that was looked like it was flowing. That wasn't the most intriguing thing about it, though. The hand that James had picked it up with had disappeared.

"An invisibility cloak," Remus breathed.

"Now are you up for an itsy-bitty prank?"

Remus grinned, and James threw the cloak over them both. "Just don't let anyone see feet or hands, and remember they can still hear you."

"Where did you get this? These are so rare, and expensive!"

"My Dad," he said, and although Remus couldn't see him anymore, he knew James was grinning.

"Awesome." They maneuvered their way through the common room, and no one noticed as an invisible someone snuck through the portrait hole.

"Who's there?" the Fat Lady asked, looking around in confusion, but they passed her and James led the way down the hall.

"How do we find him?"

"I keep seeing him down this hallway here. I don't know what's he's doing, but he needs to stop lurking around."

They walked for another minute, and James suddenly stopped, drawing his wand. "There," he breathed. Ahead of them, Snape was standing in a corridor speaking to someone they couldn't see. James nudged Remus and they moved just an inch, for him to poke his head around the corner. "It's Evans," he said.

"They're friends, James. She's lived by him for years."

"How do you know?"

"She told me."

James seemed to shrug it off and instead brought out his wand, jutting it out of the confines of the cloak just enough to cast it. Remus snorted when he heard James follow the curse with a whispered "Scougriffy!" They watched, with growing satisfaction, as his hair began to change from its usual greasy black and was instead a clean, glowing, paper-white.

"What was that?" they heard Lily say, as she looked around. She must have heard Remus laugh, but she forgot about it when she noticed Snape's hair. "Sev-"

"Let's get out of here." Remus whispered. Before they left, however, he drew his own wand and whispered a charm that would make it semi-permanent.

James nodded under the cloak, and they made their way back to the tower. "It should stick for a good two days, now, at least," Remus informed James.

"Huh? I thought it was temporary."

"It is. The modifying spell I placed on it is supposed to make most charms last longer than intended."

"You're bloody brilliant. I knew there must have been some reason you hide away in that library all day. You've been reading up on ways to prank people, haven't you?"

"Pranking is not what these spells are supposed to be for."

"Then I guess we'll have to abuse the magic," James grinned.

When they re-entered the common room from the dormitory stairs, Sirius was sitting by the fire and asked what they had been doing up there.

"Not much," James smirked. "Look for Snape in the morning, though."

Sirius' gaze flickered to Remus, and back to James. "What did you do now?"

Peter arrived before long, with his normal blonde hair again, and Remus settled into the cushions with a book, lost in his own thoughts. He had just aided in a slightly cruel prank, and although he took satisfaction in the fact that the evil git Snape would pay, he also felt slightly guilty. Dumbledore had not let him into this school to cause him trouble. He was lucky to be there at all, really, and under any other Headmaster in any other time, or at any other school, he would have been rejected.

His thoughts strayed to the date. It was the twenty-first, a Monday, and Friday was the twenty-fifth... He glanced out of the window and noted a moon that would soon be full.

Remus wondered what sort of excuse he could give his friends for not being around on Saturday, but he didn't have much time to think, as Sirius was looking his way. "Huh?"

"I asked if you wanted to pay chess," he said, giving Remus an odd look, the grinned. "These two aren't even a challenge."

"I'm not good." Sirius shrugged. "Fine."

A half-hour later, they were still closely engaged, and James and Peter were cheering Remus on.

"Why can't you root for me?" Sirius asked, crossing his arms as Remus contemplated his next move.

"Because we want him to win!" James grinned. "Someone needs to kick your ass.

"Check," Remus smirked.

Sirius glanced back down at the board, where Remus had cornered him. There was no way out. "Damn it! I thought you were no good at this game?"

"I usually lose, honestly."

Sirius Black, Remus soon learned, was a determined man. Every night that week, he challenged Remus to at least three chess matches, all of which Remus won, and he complained when Remus refused his chess game challenges to do homework. When he entered the common room after the last class on Friday afternoon, Remus dropped into a chair next to him.

"An owl came for you," Sirius said, pointing to the mantle, where a barn owl hooted to him. "It won't let me take the letter from it so it can bloody go home, though."

Remus smiled and pet the bird as he opened the parchment and scanned over the 'Good luck' letter from his mother. He shoved it in his pocket and sat back down. "Where are Peter and James?"

"Receiving their instructions for detention tonight. While you were in the library, they started a fight with Snape. He thinks James turned his hair earlier this week. Can you believe that? Poor, innocent James Potter?" He had a look of purely evil bewilderment on his face.

"Of course," Remus said, "Just what were they thinking?"

Sirius laughed. "I think he's going to set some sort of record for most detentions in a Hogwarts career soon. He's had detention for something or other more than half his days here already."

"That's pathetic and impressive."

"It is," Sirius agreed. "You're doing homework already? We only have one essay for Monday," he said, as Remus drew out his work.

"I want to get it out of the way."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself. You'll be head boy in a few years if you keep it up, you know," he said, scrunching up his nose as if were the absolute most distasteful position to hold on Merlin's good green Earth.

"Oh well. I have to go look this up." He grabbed his bag and exited the common room, thankfully without any protest from his fellow housemates.

It was drawing closer to dusk now, and Remus quickened his pace as he wound his way through the corridors. He passed McGonogall, who glanced up at him and paused. "Remus Lupin," she said quietly, "Good luck," she gave him small smile, which was something rare from the rigid Professor.

He cast his eyes down and nodded. "Thank you, Professor," he said, and hurried off. He reached the infirmary and found the nurse in her office. She was a young, gifted woman who had just been hired two year prior.

"Remus," she smiled, "Are you ready to go? It'll be dark soon."

He nodded. Although he went through this every month, he was still nervous. He was even more so as he followed Madam Pomfrey into the Great Hall and down, across the lawn and to the giant, furious Willow tree on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"You...you're sure I won't be able to get out?" He didn't like being in a new place. His basement was bad enough, knowing that his parents were just upstairs, waiting up for him. Here, there were hundreds of people less than a mile away form him. It was unnerving.

"Dumbledore set the wards himself. You'll have to use your wand to get out, my boy. It's a simple enough charm, actually. You go in with no problem, but once the door closes, you need to cast alohomora, alright? If you're not back to the infirmary by ten, I'm coming to get you. If you want me before that, Floo call. There's another locked door at the top of the stairs on the left where you'll find a bedroom. There's Floo Powder in there for you to use. Okay?"

Remus nodded as Pomfrey stunned the great Willow tree, freezing it, and led Remus down, through the tunnel and into the old, boarded-up house that was almost as dirty as the underground passageway leading to it. Pomfrey gave him a sympathetic smile. "It'll be alright, Remus. Put your wand somewhere safe."

He nodded.

"Then good luck. I'll see you in the morning." She gave him a quick smile and left, locking the door behind her.

Remus sighed as he sat down on a musty old couch against the wall. The tunnel may have been new, but the house was ancient. His palms were sweaty, his body restless, and he wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep through the night, but he knew that it was impossible. In less than an hour's time, he will have transformed into a great, ugly wolf-beast at the mercy of the full moon. Remus Lupin would cease to exist, and he would instead become the Werewolf that resided inside of him.

- - - - - -

He opened his eyes before dawn, groaning as he sat up. Remus looked around him at the trashed shack, with claw marks on the wood around him and blood staining the sofa. His limbs were aching, and his head was pounding. His wrists and ankles were bleeding, and his side was ripped open. Some of his clothes were shredded across the floor, and he was left shivering naked on the hard floor.

Remus took a deep, steadying breath before he stood up and stumbled numbly upstairs, retrieving his wand where he had stowed it above the door and unlocking the bedroom. He pulled on a robe and Flooed to Madam Pomfrey's office.

She screamed when Remus toppled onto the floor next to her desk, startling her, and the woman sighed in relief when she recognized him, before she panicked. "Come here," she said, "Can you walk?"

He nodded and stood up, following her to the last bed. She shut the curtains around him and began to work. She fed him three potions; one that tasted like pepper and stung his throat, one that made him gag at the vomit-inducing taste, and one last one that tasted like oranges.

"Water, dear?" she asked, handing him a goblet. She quickly healed his bleeding side with her wand, and smothered some sort of thick blue paste on his ankles and wrists.

"Bite marks..." she murmured to herself as she applied the medicine. "These are deep."

"They're not that bad," he said. He hissed as she touched the broken skin to secure a bandage to his arm and she apologized. He shook his head. He had had an okay moon this month.

"Alright. You'll be as good as new in a few hours. Are you hungry?"

"A little," he confessed. He never ate much prior to the full moon, out of nerves more than anything, and was usually famished afterwards. Pomfrey summoned a house elf and it bowed deeply at her order before disapparating, and coming back minutes later with a food-laden tray which Remus devoured. "May I go to the Tower now?" he asked.

"You need to rest, Remus."

"I will rest. In my bed, in my dormitory. I'd like my housemates to think I just came in late and they won't know anything."

The witch sighed, and took pity. "Do not touch those wounds. Take the bandages off after noon today, and make sure you clean it well. I want you to report back to me at two o'clock this afternoon."

"Thank you," he grinned, and leaped off the bed.

He didn't run into a soul all the way to the Tower, and there were only a few older Gryffindors hanging around the common room. With a snort, he noted the seventh-year passed out on the couch next to a bottle of Firewhiskey.

Remus opened the dormitory door as quietly as he could, so as not to wake anyone, but it didn't seem to matter much. As soon as he entered, he froze, as he saw Sirius sitting on the floor next to his bed scratching something on a piece of parchment. An owl that Remus didn't recognize was sitting in the window.

"Remus-" he blinked. "You look like you've been run over by a bloody hippogriff. Or worse. Have a run-in with a Manticore lately?"

"It's nothing. Goodnight."

"It's dawn, mate," Sirius snickered. "Morning."

"Exactly. Why the hell are you up so early?"

"'M up late too," he shrugged.

"Oh." Remus was laughing as he collapsed onto his pillows and drew his curtains before he lost consciousness.


	3. Witness Protection

Title: The Legacy

By: b e f r e e

Summary: Best friends are fleeting, but Marauders are forever. It takes seven years to build a friendship, and a single day to break it.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter or Harry Potter related. It's all JKR's. If I owned it, I'd have something better to do than write fanfiction.

Warnings: **Spoilers!** For all books, including Deathly Hallows.

A/N: Please **Read **and **Review**!

**The Legacy**

**Chapter Three**

"Are you okay, mate?" Remus groaned, as the face of James Potter came into his view. "You've been sleeping all day, you know," he told him, and the bed sunk as James sat down. "It's two O'clock. Peter and I just came back from the kitchens, and we figured we would bring you something. Sirius said you didn't come back until late."

"Oh?"

"Here," James handed him a plate of sandwiches that looked like someone had eaten half already. "Sorry, Peter got hungry on the way back."

"Don't blame me," Peter said from across the room. "James ate them too."

"Thank you guys," Remus said, grinning, and shoved two sandwiches into his mouth at once. "I'm starving," he said, as James stared at him.

"You're mad," he said. "You should really get up. We were going to go flying as soon as we find Sirius. Want to come?"

"Sure."

"Cool. Any idea where Sirius went, then?"

"I've been asleep since...hey..." Remus blinked suddenly, and stood up. "What time did you say it was?"

"It's a little after two. Why?"

"I have to go! I'll find you guys outside!" Remus said, and bolted out the door. He had to see Pomfrey, and she was already going to berate him for being late. She'd be on her way to find him before long. He d into the hospital wing and stopped dead as he came face-to-face with none other than Sirius Black.

"What happened to _you_?" Remus blurted. Sirius' face was cut open and he had a black eye, and there was a bandage on his shoulder where his robes were torn open. "I-I mean, you..."

"He's trying to sneak out," Pomfrey frowned, pointing her wand toward Sirius as she emerged from the storage room. "Go find a bed and I'll be over in a moment, Mr. Lupin."

"But-Sirius, what _happened_?"

"Lucius Malfoy happened," he spat. "The bloody Death Eater scum."

"Mr. _Black_, sit _back_," Pomfrey said. "Now lay down. And Remus, _go_."

"Fine," the werewolf stalked behind the curtain, and he could hear Pomfrey fussing in the bed next to him. After a few minutes, she disappeared into her office for a moment, and Sirius came over looking like nothing had happened and sat down at the foot of the bed where Remus was sitting Indian-style, bored.

"Why are you here?"

"I wasn't feeling well yesterday and Pomfrey wanted me to come back today to see if I was okay."

"That sucks. She's a bloody meddling woman, isn't she?"

"Absolutely. But she never asks a question."

"That's true. She didn't even ask me what I did."

"Why _did _Lucius Malfoy curse you?"

"I told you, he's a bloody Dark wizard and he hates me because I'm a pure-blood and I'm in Gryffindor. He doesn't like that friends with two half bloods and a blood traitorous Potter. He's a bastard. Snape is up to something, too."

Remus frowned. "Sirius, people shouldn't hate you because you're a Gryffindor or that you're friends with _normal_ people."

"I _know_ that," Sirius said. "But my family and the rest of those purebloods are idiots. They're bigots. You know, people don't want to believe it, but there's going to be a war."

"Sirius, what are you talking about?"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Some of the purebloods are getting this imbecilicidea that they're so superior that half-bloods and muggleborns shouldn't even _live_. They think that somehow their magical blood is being diluted and that in a few hundred years there won't be any such thing as a witch or wizard anymore."

"That's ridiculous," Remus said.

Sirius nodded. "But they believe it. Half the school, mostly Slytherins, they hate me because I'm a pureblood and I'm not buying the bigotry. The rest of the school just hates me because of my family. No one liked Bellatrix when she was here, and no one likes Narcissa or any of my other cousins. Plus I had a relative quite a while back who was Headmaster here for a while and everybody hated him too."

"What are you doing? "Pomfrey walked back in and shooed Sirius away from the bed, but he lingered by the curtain.

"What's wrong, anyways?" Sirius asked.

"Stomach," he grunted, as Pomfrey felt his abdomen through his robes. She frowned and cast something that Remus realized took his bandages off and prodded his side again.

"Much better. You're dismissed - both of you. Now get out," she said, as she wandered into her office.

"Let's go, Remus."

They began to walk down the corridor, and headed toward the Quidditch pitch. "You know not everyone hates you, right?"

Sirius looked up, and his dark eyes quickly wandered back to his feet. "No, they do. You guys are the only people who like me. Everyone else has one reason or another to hate me."

"That's stupid," Remus said, "If people don't hate _me_, why would they hate you?"

"What do you mean?"

Remus froze. He had thought it, but he hadn't meant to say it aloud. "Oh, James and Peter want to play Quidditch."

"Nice change of subject. When?"

"Now."

Sirius grinned. "What are we waiting for? Just...don't tell the guys I bumped into you, please?"

"Sure thing."

Remus was beginning to realize one thing about his new friends-'Sirius' and 'James and Sirius' were _completely_ different beings, and the individual Sirius, although he didn't appear very often, was an intelligent, therefore a scary one.

Two months went too quickly for Remus. Halloween had passed without major incident and only a week of detention for transfiguring Snape's robes into a dress during the feast. The moons went fairly smoothly too. Remus snuck into bed the night after the full moon in November on a cold Tuesday morning and didn't even remember to close his curtains. He slept a total of four hours until Peter woke him up to go to class, and he stumbled to Potions.

The potions instructor, Professor Slughorn was a large man and a good teacher, who showered favoritism on certain students quite liberally. He had a little 'club' in which the siblings, children, and nieces and nephews of famous or notably accomplished witches and wizards were invited. He didn't show much interest in Remus other than the occasional note of his good marks, for which Remus was glad.

"Alright, everyone, I've put you in pairs," he announced. You're going to make a basic antidote for simple, non-lethal poisons."

Remus cursed his luck when he was paired with Snape, but made his way reluctantly to the back table where the boy was setting up. "I'll just go get the ingredients, then," Remus said. He wanted to make the class go as painlessly as possible, and he also knew that Snape could brew the best potions of anyone in the class, and even Snape wouldn't let his own grade suffer out of spite. Snape was obviously still sore from the barrage of fights and pranks by Remus' friends in the past three months since school had started, and although Remus rarely engaged directly in their mischief, Snape didn't like him any better than the others.

They made it through the majority of the class without incident. They worked in near-silence, speaking only to tell the other to 'pass this' or 'stir that'. Remus bottled their perfectly brewed potion and handed it to Slughorn, who nodded approvingly. "Clean up and you two may go," he told them. Most of the class was just beginning to finish the last step of the potion, so Remus began to clear the instruments off of the table as Snape put their unused ingredients back in the store cupboards. He put their cauldron away and picked up a few knives they had been using and went to the back of the room to put them where they belonged when, feet dragging from exhaustion of the night before, he tripped.

Now, common sense tells us that falling onto a handful of knives is a dangerous idea, but it could have been worse, honestly. The knives lay flat on the floor, and Remus' forearm was the only thing that touched a blade. Unfortunately for him, the blade that miraculously _didn't_ cut him was _silver_.

Remus had only had to experience the pain that came from touching pure silver twice before in his life. Once, when he was young he had grabbed a silver door handle, and another time, when he was ten, a clerk at the bookshop had been wearing a silver bracelet that had brushed against his wrist as he accepted his change. Both times, he decided, had been better than this time, because the other incidents had involved only brief contact with the offending metal. This time, however, it took a moment to get over the shock of falling and actually recognize the pain. He hissed, sitting up quickly and clutching his arm, biting his lip.

Silver was the worst was to torture a werewolf. The skin's reaction to it was said to rival the pain inflicted by the Cruciatus curse, concentrated into a single area. A white-hot, searing wave of pain shot through his arm, down to his fingertips and back up, and he almost cried out.

"Mate, you alright?" Sirius asked.

"Mm. I just got cut."

"Yes, falling on a knife will do that," James said, rolling his arms.

Slughorn had stood up, peering across the room to see if he was all right. "Come here, Lupin. Potter, pick those up," he added, as Remus walked to the front desk. People stopped paying so much attention to him and went back to finishing their potions. "Let me see," Slughorn said quietly.

Remus lifted his hand off of what he knew would be an ugly mark, and refused to look at himself as Slughorn examined it. "Go see Pomfrey. I'll send word to your next teacher," he said immediately.

"Thank you, Professor," Remus said, and grabbed his bag from his desk before he rushed from the room. He ran down the corridor and toward the infirmary, but stopped when he passed a washroom. It was empty, for which he was glad, as he sunk to the floor beside a large, circular stone basin filled with water and spouting water of an imaginary fountain in the center of it. He shrugged his robes off and splashed some of the cold water onto the burn, which he realized now that he would have to look at, eventually.

Remus took a breath and opened his eyes, gritting his teeth at the wound. It was nearly two inches long, and bleeding, the skin burnt open and raw, showing the muscle underneath and oozing disgusting-looking yellow pus that mixed with his blood.

It would soon be yet another scar to add to the ever-growing collection. He splashed more water on it and bit his lip so badly that it bled. He could feel his blood pounding in his arm, and it _really _hurt. Remus had a high threshold for pain, but the Werewolf wanted nothing more than to curl up and go to sleep, unfeeling, until the blood drained out of him or the pain went away.

"Rem-Bloody hell!"

Remus jumped and turned to find Sirius standing in the doorway. He stared for a moment before he seemed to come to his senses. "Come on, let's go to Pomfrey."

"It's not as bad as it looks."

"Your lips is bleeding," Sirius pointed out. "And there must have been some sort of ingredient on that knife for it to...ooze...like that. It looks diseased. Actually it looks burnt, too," he added, offhandedly. "That doesn't make much sense. Maybe some sort of reaction-"

"Sirius, just..." Remus took a steadying breath, "Just go to class, _please_."

"I'm not going to leave you here! You look like that hurts, Remus. Plus there's a huge bruise up there. That doesn't look new, though...What happened?"

"Sirius, _please_, just _go_. I didn't question your black eye or that huge gash on your thigh a few nights ago."

Sirius' eyes narrowed.

"Glamour charms don't work so well when they wear off, Black."

"Just let me see you to the infirmary, at least."

Remus looked at him, and resigned. He stood up, unsteadily, and Sirius frowned. "Mate, on second thought, you look terrible. Maybe I should go find her-"

"I'm fine. Let's go, then...Siri-?" he blinked at his friend, whose face swam back into focus, and out again.

"Oh _Merlin_." Sirius' voice floated into his mind.

"...Sirius...?"

The last thing he saw was Sirius' face obscured by darkness.

"Is he going to be all right, though? Do you think there was something on the knife?"

"Yes. In fact, go fetch Horace so that I can see what was in the potion."

"No need," Sirius told her. "I have the potion right here." He pulled his potions text out and flipped to the page they had been working from. "This is it."

She glanced at it and took it from him quickly, glancing over. "I see... Thank you," she said, suddenly. "Now _get out_."

"I'm not leaving him here!"

"Your other friends left, so why won't you?" You'll be in trouble for missing class, you know," Pomfrey added. Sirius stood his ground, and didn't even move when Pomfrey took out her wand. She threatened Sirius with it enough to make him retreat to the foot of the bed, and scowled as she looked at the potions text. One line stood out to her. 'Cut the daisy roots with a silver blade.'

Sirius had said that he was putting knives away when he tripped, and obviously, Pomfrey gathered, Remus had fallen on the silver knife.

"Careless boy," she scowled.

"...Tha'snot nice," Remus muttered. His eyes blinked open, and he shook his head like a dog to get rid of his grogginess, but it didn't dissipate much. "What'appened?"

"You took a little fall, Remus," Pomfrey said. "Black was kind enough to carry you here and stubborn enough to not _leave_."

"How long was I out?" Remus was beginning to wake up, slowly now.

"Only about a half-hour. I've been arguing with Black here for a while," the woman said. "He won't _leave_."

"He's nosy like that," Remus said, grinning feebly.

"Yes, I am," Sirius, said.

Pomfrey fussed over him for another ten minutes before she wrapped his arm in a bandage and sent him back to class with a pepper-up potion and a painkiller.

"She's trying to drug you up, mate," Sirius grinned, and shut the infirmary door. "What aren't you telling us?"

"I could ask the same of you," Remus replied, internally panicking. What if Sirius suspected?

"Fine," Sirius growled. "I say we skip McGonogall's class."

For once, Remus agreed with him. "Library," he said, and turned down a corridor to his left. Sirius wheeled about behind him and followed. "Don't make Madame Dupont kick me out again," he warned.

"Nah. I actually have homework to do for later."

Remus raised an eyebrow. Sirius _never_ did work.

"It's for next period, Defense."

"That sounds more likely."

In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Remus took his usual seat with James at the back, and Sirius sat with Peter in front of them. Sirius didn't say anything more about him, and Remus was glad of it.

"Alright," the Professor said, clapping his hands together. The Professor was called Mitchell Lawrence, a good-natured, but deceptively small man who was actually a quite powerful wizard. He was a retired Aurour, and was steadily nearing his eighties or nineties. His reflexes weren't as sharp as they had once been, but he didn't seem to need them.

"Everybody, hand forth your essays," he said, looking at Sirius in particular.

"What?" he said, "I actually _did_ mine, thank you!" and a large portion of the class laughed.

"If you say so. You haven't copied Mr. Lupin's, have you?"

"No, I haven't." Sirius said smugly.

Professor Lawrence looked doubtful, as he looked to Remus, who smiled. "He finished it, of his own accord, with no help from either myself or anyone else. Or a textbook," he added. "But he started and finished it about ten minutes ago."

The old man laughed. "Alright, _that_ sounds likely. Very well, then," he said, as he went about the room collecting parchment. "Everybody open up to page 106 in your texts and will begin to study jinxes."

"Thanks a lot, mate," Sirius snorted.

After the November moon, Remus realized that Christmas was fast approaching. Remus felt bad because he wanted to get his dorm mates something, but he didn't have any money. He sighed and put his quill down, taking a short break from his Charms essay and looking around the library.

"Remus, how are you?"

He looked up as Dorcas sat down, smiling. "Good. You?"

She shrugged. "I heard what happened in Potions the other day. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I guess I had an allergic reaction to whatever was on the knife when it got into the cut. It's fine, now."

"Sirius said you passed out."

"It was nothing, really."

She shook her head as she opened her books. "So," she said, "What's on your mind lately?"

Remus shrugged. "I don't know what to do about Christmas."

"What's the matter with it?"

"I can't afford to get my friends much," he admitted. "I'm dirt poor."

"It doesn't matter how expensive a gift is, Remus," Dorrie told him. "It should be something thoughtful, that's all. If my mother is giving something to muggles, she'll just transfigure it," she said, grinning. "My father's family has a few muggles in it where his brother married a squib, and their beautiful presents all used to be something insanely cheap like a bowl or something."

"That's mean to the muggles," Remus laughed.

Dorrie grinned. "Why don't you get them candy? I'm giving Lily and Marlene plush toys, but I'm not sure if that would be as appropriate for a guy."

"I can imagine the reaction," Remus snorted. "Candy, though...that's a good idea. It's useful, at least. It's not as if they won't eat it. Then...what do _you_ want for Christmas?"

She blinked. "Remus, you don't have to get me anything," she said.

"Yes I do."

"_Please_ don't waste your money on me, Remus. How about we agree not to exchange gifts with each other? I usually don't exchange gifts with my best friends. We never really needed them because we knew we didn't have to be bought. We shouldn't be worrying about Christmas yet, anyways," she said, by way of dismissal. "You have a month, you know."

He smiled and picked his quill back up. "You're right."

But a month went fairly quickly, and before he knew it, he and Sirius were in their pajamas, in the Great Hall saying goodbye to Peter and James. "Write, mate," James said, as they fought their way toward the doors. Remus immediately caught sight of the carriages, and stared. "What _are_ those?" The creatures pulling the carriages were _not_ horses. They were horse-_like_, but their bat wings and black coats werenothing short of _creepy_.

"What are _what_?"

"The...things pulling the carriages," Remus said. "They're disgusting."

James and Peter looked at him with concern, but they needed to leave, because Filch was ushering them into a carriage. "Mate," James told Sirius, "Keep him sane while we're gone. And wreck as much havoc on the Slytherins as possible!"

"Happy Christmas!" Peter said, and their carriage began to move.

Sirius was looking at the carriages blankly until Remus shook him out of it. "What's the matter? Come on. Let's go back to the tower. I don't like the entire school seeing my pajamas."

He nodded, and they began to walk back. "You can really see them?"

"See what?"

"Threstals."

"What are those?"

"They're the...not-horse-things that pull the carriages."

"Of course I can see them, I'm not blind. Why?"

"James and Peter can't," he said. "But I can. You really don't know what they are...they're horrible little buggers. I can't believe they _use_ them here. And they're bad luck. James and Peter can't see them, and I expected you wouldn't be able to either..."

"Sirius, what's this about?"

"Threstals can only be seen by a person who has witnessed a death. Someone who has been in the physical presence, and seen with his or her own eyes, another human's last breath. To anyone else, Threstals are invisible horses. They seem like a charm or a spell instead of a creature, I suppose."

Remus had stopped walking for a moment, but resumed his pace quickly.

The inevitable question hung in the air, 'Who was it?' but it went unasked.

They walked in complete silence until they got back to the Tower, where they found a common room that was empty and trashed. Only one person was still there-a black-haired seventh-year girl who was lying on a sofa. "Oh, you two are staying?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Nice to know I won't be the _only_ person in this Tower. I'm Melanie," she said.

"Melanie McKinnon, sister of Marlene?" Remus asked.

"Yeah. You know her?"

"Sort of. We're first-years too, and I'm friends with Dorrie."

"Remus' _girlfriend_," Sirius grinned, winking.

"Are you jealous of him?" the girl grinned.

"Yeah," Sirius laughed. "I could have any girl in the first three years."

She laughed. "You're awfully full of yourself, firstie."

" He has an ego problem. It's beyond cure," Remus said.

"Good luck with that. I have a date with a Mr. Faulkner now."

"Hey, she's a nerd like you, Rem," Sirius grinned, elbowing him. Remus winced. "What's the matter?"

"I have a huge bruise on my arm there, Sirius!"

"What did you do?"

"I feel into a suit of armor, _thank you very much_," he said. "I wonder whose fault that would have been? Was it James? No...no...I think it was...Peter? No, no...Oh _I remember_, it was _you_!" Remus smiled in his best guilt-inducing way as he crossed his arms.

Sirius snickered. "It was an accident, mate, honestly."

"Sure."

"Hey, I know what'll make you feel better. Let's go find something detention-worthy to do. I have to beat James, you know."

Melanie, who had been reading on the couch, laughed. "That kid really is gaining reputation, you know. I heard he's only had thirty-one days without detention so far."

"Yeah. Two-thirds of his life is spent in detention, and the other part is spent getting there. It's a pathetic, idiotic way to live. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to beat him. I'm twelve days behind James right now."

Melanie laughed. "Go do something to Filch if you want something to do. Bloody bastard won't let us near the astronomy tower."

"Right then! Let's go plan, Rem!"

Remus smiled at the girl, and followed him upstairs to the dormitory.

"Hey, you know what they do in the astronomy tower, don't you?" Sirius grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.

Remus rolled his eyes. "They _snog_."

"Nope."

Remus raised an eyebrow.

"They do _much_ more than just snog, my friend. They do the naughty."

"Sirius, you're an idiot," Remus said, although he was rather flustered. He looked at his bed as they entered the room and saw a package lying on his quilt.

"What's that?"

"Presents. And a letter from my parents," he added, picking up the parchment.

Sirius, grinning, grabbed the letter off of him. "Hey!"

"What do Remus' parents have to say, huh?"

"They say give me back my mail, you felon."

Sirius grinned and cleared his throat, holding the letter out of Remus' reach. "Dear Remus, _darling_," he said in a high falsetto voice, which was probably meant to sound like his mother, "'Be safe and write us back to tell us how it went. _Love_, Mum!' Your parents write boring letters. Mine are all full of death threats," Sirius laughed.

Remus looked up at him, and although Sirius was laughing, he knew that was no joke.


	4. The Birth of a Marauder

Title: The Legacy

By: b e f r e e

Summary: Best friends are fleeting, but Marauders are forever. It takes seven years to build a friendship, and a single day to break it.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter or Harry Potter related. It's all JKR's. If I owned it, I'd have something better to do than write fanfiction.

Warnings: **Spoilers!** For all books, including Deathly Hallows.

A/N: Please **Read **and **Review**!

**The Legacy**

**Chapter Four**

On Christmas morning, Remus woke up before dawn. He was still sore from his transformation two nights ago, but he had not had any significant injuries this time, at least. The boy stretched and got up, walking to the window, where it was still fairly dark out. Frost had gathered on the glass and made a beautiful pattern of fractals in tiny, crystallized white snowflakes. He watched the window for a long time, until after the gray sky had become lit up, and a light snow had begun to fall over the already calf-deep blanket of powder outside.

"Remus?" he heard Sirius' groggy voice, and suddenly he felt awake, and Sirius must have just come to his senses as well. "What are you sleeping up there for?" the boy asked, as his shaggy head poked out from his curtains.

Remus grinned. "Happy Christmas," he said.

Sirius' face split into a smile. "Let's go open presents! What did you get me yesterday?"

Remus laughed. He had returned to the tower the previous evening and Sirius had not let up on what Remus had gotten, because he had told him that he was going to buy his Christmas presents while he was really recovering in the hospital wing.

They went down to the common room, and Remus grinned at the large pile of packages under the tree. "Should we get Melanie up?"

"That seventh-year? Sure," Sirius grinned. "Let's go."

He creeped toward the stairs, and Remus sniggered, watching him. "What?" Sirius asked, pausing before he stepped up.

"Nothing. Let's go ahead up," he said, grinning.

He gave him a suspicious look, but preceded up the first few stairs anyways, and was promptly knocked flat on his face as the stairs melded together and formed a slide that was nearly impossible to get up. Sirius slid back down to the floor and crashed into an armchair, landing awkwardly on his bottom.

The sound of his landing, or perhaps the sound of Remus and Sirius' hysterics, must have woken Melanie up anyways, and she came down, still in her own nightclothes, and laughing as she slid to the floor beside Sirius. She didn't land quite so hard, as she had been expecting it, though. "Why were you trying to get into the girls' dormitories?" she laughed. "Don't first-years know anything?"

Remus wiped tears of laughter from his eyes. "_He_ doesn't. I sent him up to see if you wanted to spend Christmas morning with us. No one should open presents alone, you know."

The girl grinned. "Of course!"

The Christmas tree in the common room was bent slightly at the top where the highest bows hit the ceiling, and was decorated in beautiful gold and red garland. Underneath, there was one large pile of packages, which Sirius didn't hesitate to dig into. "Remus!" he announced, and threw a box his way. "Melanie," he presented an elegant hatbox to the girl with what was supposedly a charming flourish.

She laughed. "You'll be a heartbreaker in a few years, won't you?" she said, smiling. "I'll have to warn the underclassmen. You've got to do something about that _hair_, though."

"I like it long," Sirius defended, and grabbed a present of his own out of the mountain.

Remus received candy, of all things, from his fell Gryffindors, including Sirius. He had also gotten a new eagle feather quill from Dorrie, (he had sent her a book she had been wanting from Flourish and Botts), and new trousers and a few new shirts from his parents. They had also sent books, and his mother had sent a cassette player.

"Who sent you that thing?" Melanie asked.

"What is it?"

"It's a cassette player. You put tapes in it and it'll play music...it's from my mother. Bless her, the muggle. She sent a note too. 'Your father told me not to give you this, but I don't see why. Enjoy it! I sent you a few tapes, too. I hate the music, so you should like it.'" Remus reached for the next present, which had a few cassettes in it. "The Beatles...Fleetwood Mac...Led Zepplin...Black Sabbath...Credence Clearwater Revival...The Who...These are all good bands, actually. I wish I could play it here."

Melanie looked interested. "It's electronic?"

"Yeah."

"I would love to hear muggle music. Maybe I can figure out a charm to stop the magical interference with it, or a way to make it run off of magic."

"What's Santana?" Sirius asked, reading another cassette.

"It's a band."

"And...The Guess Who? Why are there two Who's?"

"Because there are."

Sirius put the cassettes all down. "Muggles are bloody confusing."

Remus shrugged. "At least she didn't send me Simon and Garfunkel."

"Guys, let's go down for lunch!" Melanie said.

They agreed, because it was nearly noon by now, and they returned to their dormitories to change before they went to the Great Hall.

There were very few people staying for Christmas vacation. Snape, unfortunately, was one of them, and Sirius couldn't do _anything_ to him, because it would be too blatantly obvious that Sirius had done it if Snape turned up with rabbit ears. "I'm doing it as soon as the others come back," Sirius said quietly, smirking.

Remus rolled his eyes and looked around. There was one Slytherin other than Snape, and there were three Ravenclaw girls from third year and one Huffelpuff boy in his sixth year. They all sat at the single table in the Great Hall with Professor Dumbledore, McGonogall, Slughorn, and a few other Professors as they ate. Snape, as Remus had suspected before, didn't come from a good home, so it was no surprise that he was there, and the same could be said of Sirius. Remus _had_ wondered what Melanie McKinnon was staying for, especially since her sister had gone home. He didn't voice his curiosity, however, because so far, no one had wanted to know why _he_ was there.

Remus could have gone home, and his parents would have been happy to see him back, but he felt as if he were somehow less of a hazard at Hogwarts for the full moon that had been on the twenty-third. At Hogwarts, he was in the 'Shrieking Shack', as some of the upperclassmen had told them that the villagers of Hogsmeade were calling the run-down house. At his home, he was in the basement, and although there were protective measures taken to ensure the safety of his parents, he didn't trust himself not to bite one of them. He didn't want to burden his parents, who had done so much for him already. They spent every hard-earned penny they made looking for a cure for him, and it was heartbreaking every time he used to try another 'cure' that would fail the next moon.

It had been more than two years since their last attempt to 'cure' him, but they were still searching...

"Remus, mate? You alright?" Sirius said, and he jolted back to reality, back to lunch in the Great Hall with Sirius while he lobbed crackers at Snape, who was getting rather angry, if the scarlet of his face was anything to go by.

Remus grinned. "Yeah. Want to go outside?"

Christmas seemed to pass too quickly, as well as the New Year, which went off with a display of fireworks, which they watched from the roof. Before he knew it, Remus was sitting back in History of Magic, listening to Professor Binns drone on about giant wars, and in Potions, trying to stop Peter from blowing them all to bits, and Remus fell into the routine of school again, only interrupted by the full moon in the middle of January, until, only slightly wounded, he focused back on his schoolwork again.

Remus, Sirius, Peter, and James had wandered to the Great Hall fairly early, for once, and when they sat down next to Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon, and Dorcas Meadows, Dorrie immediately began to show Remus an article in the _Prophet_ that she was absolutely fascinated by. "The muggles have landed on the moon _again_!" she said excitedly. "They're brilliant! They can take a great metal box into the sky and leave the Earth. They've even _walked_ on the moon now."

"Yeah, they managed to do it twice before now, too. This is the third time they've landed," Lily said. "I can't believe you didn't hear before."

"Really?" Sirius said, as he looked over the article. "Then why are they on their fourteenth spaceship?"

James laughed. "Maybe a few of the muggles went off to Mars or something."

" Are they wearing the Bubble-head Charm?" Sirius said, looking at the picture now. It was motionless, and in black-and-white on the front page of the paper.

"No, it's just a muggle suit, although I'm not sure why they wear them." Remus said, and Lily began laughing into her oatmeal.

"What's so funny?" James asked.

"It's just that...Wizards think they're so much better than muggles because they don't have to rely on technology, and you don't even know that there's no air on the moon."

"Then how are they up there?" Peter said.

"Their suits hold the air for them," Lily said.

"But it's just useless to go up there. Unless there are diamonds on the Moon, I don't know why anyone would want to. I mean, it's bare," James said.

Remus, who was rather uncomfortable by now, shoved a load of eggs and sausage into his mouth. He was grateful when Peter changed the topic of conversation. "Still," she said, "It's terrible what happened to that reporter."

They all nodded solemnly. It was the front-page headline: 'Muggleborn Journalist Killed by Masked Murderer'. The woman was a bright witch in her twenties, and had been killed after she had published an article that retaliated against the ideals of purebloods.

"I told you, Rem," Sirius said quietly, while the rest of them began to chatter about other meaningless topics. "This is the beginning. The 'masked murderer' was a Death Eater."

Remus looked alarmed. "You_ know_ something about all of this?"

"Of course I do. My parents stand in full support of them, even if they're too cowardly to actually _join_ them," Sirius scowled.

"What are these 'Death Eaters' you're talking about?"

"Followers of Voldemort."

"Who is Voldemort?"

"He's a Dark wizard. He's going to be worse than Grindewald ever was. He's powerful, and he's gathering followers by promising them that they'll have whatever they want, and threatening them and their families if they don't agree with him."

"Sirius, how many people _know_ about this stuff?"

"Oh, the ministry knows," Sirius said quite confidently. "They won't admit that he's gaining power, though. They're trying to ignore the problem, hoping that he'll just go away, and Voldemort's always been very quiet, so it's easy for the Ministry to pretend he's not a threat. Wait a few years, you'll see."

"Sirius..." Remus was reluctant to believe a word of what he was saying, but somehow, he didn't think Sirius would lie about something so serious as this.

"It's true," he said quietly. "It's going to be a _war_, Remus. I told you before. This is the first death. They'll probably commit a series of murders to be highly publicized, to gain reputation, and to find more people who think like they do. I heard my mother once. The hag says that they'll gain the public first, then the government...then the children," Sirius said darkly. "Otherwise, they'll spread their message, they'll gain control of the Ministry, and they'll gain control of the schools." Sirius added, with a frown, "I actually believed it would have been a great world to live in when I heard of it...I was an idiot..."

"Sirius," James said, interrupting suddenly, and Remus realized that the others had all stood up and were starting towards the doors and to classes. "Sirius, Remus, are you two coming?"

"Sure thing," Sirius said, grinning again. Remus shook his head at the sudden 180 in his attitude and followed them. His mind had been opened up, and he was beginning to visualize an army of terrible, masked Dark wizards, going about torturing muggles. He shuddered to think... If muggles had 'dirty' blood, a Werewolf was no more than a parasite...

"Come on, Remus," Sirius said, blinking as he tugged at Remus' robes. Remus picked up his bag and jogged to keep up.

He believed every word Sirius said.

In March, Remus turned twelve, and two weeks later, there was a full moon again. The next morning, when he awoke on the cold, hard floor of the Shrieking Shack, it was only because Madam Pomfrey was speaking to him, shaking him lightly. Remus could hardly even focus well enough to hear what the witch was saying, much less recognize who it was. After the witch had administered a foul-tasting potion, however, he blinked up at her. He realized, with a jolt, that he was still nude, and drew his knees to his chest

"Here, dear," she said, throwing a blanket to him. "Don't be ashamed."

Remus was flushed, but nodded, blankly. The potion she had given him seemed to have numbed his body. "I can't feel anything."

"No? Good! We were hoping that this potion would work. It's an extremely potent painkiller that Horace whipped up for me. He said he wasn't sure how long it would last, though, because hasn't tested it. He didn't have any time for testing."

"It works well."

Pomfrey smiled distantly. "Good. Now let's get you back to the infirmary. No matter how good you _feel_, you look terrible. Remus realized that she had stopped the blood from flowing out of a gash on his thigh, and another on his back, and that his wrist was an ugly shade of purple and yellow beneath the skin.

Remus was almost glad to be in the infirmary that day. They were to have their first flying lesson that afternoon. Remus had flown before, but he was terrible.

He preferred to keep his feet on the solid Earth, and this was only reinforced when he was woken before three o'clock by a loud commotion outside his curtain. He heard familiar voices.

"That has got to be broken leg," Sirius' voice said.

"I heard it _crack_," Peter said shakily.

"We'll get Snape back for this."

"Could've done it _before_ he hexed me," James's annoyed voice huffed.

Remus frowned. James had a broken leg? He must have fallen off of his broom, and it sounded like Snape was responsible.

"Wish Remus could have seen it, though," Peter said. Remus froze, in his bed.

"Where did he go, anyways?"

"Dunno. He disappeared when you two were off in the kitchens and never came back. His bed was still empty and made this morning," Peter said. "Is his Mum sick again?"

Sirius was silent for a moment. "Remus is hiding something from us..." The werewolf sat stock-still. "I can't explain it...there are just a bunch of little things that he does...disappearing all of the time and stuff..."

"He gets some nasty bruises, too," Peter said. "Do you think he's picking fights with upperclassmen or something?"

"Nah. He's not stupid," Sirius said in Remus' defense.

"...Abuse?" James suggested.

"...No. Remus can stand up for himself if he has to...Maybe we should follow him the next time he disappears."

"_Sirius_!" Peter whined. "He's our friend! You can't _stalk_ him. He's probably in the library, anyways. I'll bet he disappears to the library and sleeps there, and books fall on him during the night or something."

Sirius snorted, and burst out laughing at the image.

"Peter, you're an idiot," James said. "But you've got a point. It's nothing, I'm sure."

Remus heard Madam Pomfrey's returning footsteps. "Out!" she scolded. "I need to take care of my patients, and they need _rest_. You've probably already woken the other boy."

"Who else do we have in here?" Sirius asked cheerfully. "We'll bug someone conscious."

"_Leave_," Pomfrey said shortly.

He huffed. "Fine. We'll be back in an hour. Only because we're hungry, though," Sirius said.

"Yes, yes..."

Remus relaxed slightly as he heard them leave. When Madam Pomfrey came to check on him, she explained that a boy, presumably Snape, had hexed James off of his broom in mid-air as he had dove down to intercept his gold, which had fallen out of his pocket when he had been showing off and doing flips on his broom.

Late in the day, after James had stopped slipping in and out of consciousness, Professor McGonogall stopped in to speak with him.

"Mr. Potter," Remus heard her say, "I heard that you put on quite the show today."

"Sorry, Professor," he said insincerely. "But I was hexed off of that broom, honest."

She sighed. "I know. And I know that it was Severus Snape who cast that hex. Unfortunately, I have no evidence, and no one saw him do it, so he cannot be punished. And although I cannot condone it, I'm quite certain that you will see your own revenge. I'm not here about that, however. I just stopped by to tell you that next year you will be able to try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and I hope that you will consider it. We will be in the market for a new chaser next year, I believe. I will recommend that the captain should consider you next year, if you would like. In any other case, she won't even see a second year try out."

James was grinning. Remus knew it by the tone of his voice. "Of course I'm trying out."

McGonogall didn't say anything else. Instead, her footsteps moved to Remus' bed, and his curtains were pulled back. "Are you awake? How are you?"

"Well enough thank you."

She smiled. "Horace-Professor Slughorn," she amended, "Sent this for you." She tossed him a bottle of milky blue liquid. "Take three drops, _no more_."

"Thank you," he said quietly. McGonogall smiled, and left. When the infirmary door closed, Remus heard James' voice.

"Hey. Who's in here?"

Remus stilled again. James didn't know he was in there before; only Sirius did, so his presence in the hospital wing just this once wouldn't be suspicious.

"James?" he asked, feigning surprise, as he pulled back the curtain. James looked fine other than hid bloodied trousers. "What are you doing here?"

"Snape cursed me off of my broom in flying lessons today. What are _you_ here for? And what did McGonogall give you?"

"I had a bad fever and I kept getting dizzy. McGonogall found me and brought me here last night, and she had Slughorn make me something."

"Any idea what happened?"

"Not a clue," Remus shrugged. "I feel better now. I just woke up," he lied.

"McGonogall wants me to try out for Quidditch next year," James said, grinning.

"Are you any good?"

"Of _course_," he said arrogantly.

Remus laughed.

Pomfrey dismissed Remus, but she kept James for observation, simply for the fact that he had fallen fairly hard and she was worried that he may have a concussion. So Remus returned to Gryffindor Tower, where a few people were wandering about. Remus could have gone to the last ten minutes of class, but he settled for reading a book instead, until Sirius and Peter returned and dragged him right back to the infirmary.

"Jeez, Remus," James laughed, "I thought you would have been tired of this place by now."

"Why's that?" Peter asked.

"Remus here was being held hostage for a fever."

Remus shrugged as the two looked at him in concern, and from across the room, Pomfrey frowned.

James, to Remus' relief, began to recount how McGonogall had suggested he play Quidditch, and how to get revenge on Snape. James had suggested public humiliation, but Sirius' approach was 'a leg for a leg'.

"Guys, we're going to get detention again, aren't we?" Peter asked.

"Probably," James grinned.

They _did_ get detention. All four of them had it, actually, and McGonogall had enlisted Slughorn's help to discipline them, as the four found when they entered her office.

McGonogall's lips were set in a straight, stern line. "Boys, since you four marauders don't seem to be able to keep a room intact when you're together, I want Potter and Pettigrew to go with Slughorn, and Lupin and Black can come with me-is something funny, Mr. Potter?"

He snickered. "Marauders, Professor? What in Merlin's name is that."

"A _troublemaker_," she said. "Now go. Get out of my sight, you ignorant boy."

"Come on," Slughorn said, and waddled out of the door.

Remus sighed as he and Sirius walked to McGonogall's room. "A week of detention seems a little harsh just for setting him on fire," Sirius said.

"Maybe it would have only been a few days if he hadn't taken his pants off in the middle of the Hall," Remus said.

"But you have to admit, that was a great April fools prank. The fireworks made a nice touch, too. I need to go back to Gambol and Japes for more Dungbombs soon."

Remus shook his head. "I can't believe you waste your money on that junk."

"Just because you don't like explosions doesn't mean the rest of the world doesn't love the pretty sparkling lights," Sirius grinned.

"As manly as that sounds, they just don't amuse me," Remus smirked.

Sirius grinned. "You know, _Mr. Lupin_," he said mischievously, "I think James and myself are rubbing off on you. You couldn't crack a joke to save your skin when we met you."

"Then what happened to Peter?" Remus said.

"See what I mean?"

Remus shook his head as they stopped in front of McGonogall's classroom, and she let them in. "You boys will be cleaning my room, starting with the floors. Give me your wands."

They groaned, and set to work scrubbing the stone floor by hand with soap and water while McGonogall was grading essays. After about ten minutes, McGonogall left the room, warning them to 'be good' before she took their wands from the desk and walked out. Sirius and Remus stopped working for a moment. "Why don't the house elves clean this?" Sirius asked.

Remus ignored him and dunked his scrub brush back into the bucket of soapy water.

After a few minutes, Sirius sat back on his heels again. "Hey Remus," he said suddenly, grinning. "Did you hear what she called us? Marauders. I kind of like it."

Remus shook his head and continued to scrub.

After another few minutes, Sirius spoke. "Hey, Remus," he said, for a second time.

The boy paused, looking up. "What?"

Sirius Black looked uncharacteristically unsure of himself for a moment, but he drove on anyways. "Where do you always go?"

He tensed. "I don't go anywhere. I don't know what you're talking about."

Sirius frowned. "You know bloody well what I'm talking about. The others don't notice, but I'm usually up pretty late. You don't come back to the tower sometimes. You stay out all night, and you'll come back looking worn-out and stuff. Plus two times now, you've been in the hospital wing. You're not like...seriously ill, are you? Because if you are-"

"I'm not sick, Sirius. I just don't feel like sleeping sometimes, so I go out and wander the castle all night. I'm probably tired the next day because I really _don't_ sleep," he lied.

"Then what about all of those scars? Who are you always fighting with?"

Remus looked to the floor, thinking up a story, quick. "Don't tell James, especially, or Peter," he said, "But I've had a run-in oa r two with Mulciber and Avery."

"Those bloody gits!" Sirius hissed. "You should have said something. We'll get back for you," he said. "What should we do to them?"

"_Nothing_," Remus said firmly.

Sirius looked at him incredulously. "You don't want to get back at them at all?"

"Please, just let it go," Remus said.

"But you're my _friend_, and friends have each others' backs. So why don't you trust us?"

"I _do_ trust you, in some things. I _don't_ trust you to take reasonable measures to get revenge on any Slytherins."

Sirius smirked suddenly and laughed. "I guess...but still, you shouldn't keep stuff like that. By the way, when James was in there for his leg, and he said you had been kept overnight, did you really have a fever, or did the Slytherins attack you?"

"I really did have a fever, actually," Remus lied. He was spared further questioning by the return of Professor McGonogall, but he knew that he was going to have to start being more careful on the full moon.

Sirius didn't bring up the subject of his disappearances for two weeks again, and Remus was fairly certain that his suspicions had dissipated. April went by so quickly between detention, pranks, and studying for their upcoming finals, that Remus was sitting in the common room in the afternoon, finishing an essay on animal transfiguration for McGonogall when he realized, with a start, that tonight would be another full moon. He only noticed then because Sirius was doing his Astronomy homework, and Remus mentally cursed himself. How could he forget? If he hadn't remembered just now...he didn't even want to _think_ about what could have happened. He continued with his work, but after a bit, Remus began to pack up. He decided that he should go down early, as if it would somehow make up for 'forgetting' about the date.

"Where are you off to, Remus?" James asked.

He shrugged. "I need to get out of the Tower," he said, and put his things in the dormitory before he went out into the corridor.

"Remus."

The boy jumped, as he came face-to-face with Sirius, who looked a bit off.

"Are you okay, Sirius?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Mind if I walk with you?"

Remus decided that he had a fair three hours before the moon, and shrugged. "Sure. What's on your mind?"

"I've been thinking...the other still haven't noticed your little disappearances. This is another one, right? You always go around the same time, you know."

"Sirius, just _drop it_," he said sharply.

"Is it a girl? Honestly, I mean, I never thought you'd be the mushy type, but I suppose you _are_ pretty close with that Dorcas girl."

"It's not a girl, Sirius. For Merlin's sake, why would I want some slag slobbering over me?" Remus laughed.

"Are you going out to get wasted?"

"I'm not an alcoholic!"

"You're on pot?"

"I'm not a bloody stoner, either!" Remus said, slightly offended that Sirius would even suggest it. "Look, why don't we head down to the kitchens? I'm hungry."

"You're _always_ hungry," Sirius groaned, but turned down the corridor that would lead them down there anyways. James had shown them where it was, and they never did ask how he knew, or how he knew to tickle the pear on the painting.

When they went inside the kitchens, house elves greeted them, and Remus smiled. "Miss Frannie," he said to one, "Could you get me some of those crème pastries and butterbeer to go with us, please?"

"Of course, Mr. Lupin, Sir," she said, and curtseyed before she ran off, disappearing into the sea of tiny elves.

"Why are you so nice to them?" Sirius asked, leaning against the wall. "They just house elves. I mean, I know you're always polite an all, but..."

"They're creatures, too, you know," Remus said, as she returned with a bag that was stuffed with the pastries and butterbeer. "Thank you very much. I have to be going now, but I'll visit back soon."

"Bye, Mr. Lupin, Sir! Mr. Black, Sir!" they said, and Sirius waved, grinning. In the corridor again, he smirked.

"Who knew you had a soft spot for less fortunate creatures."

"Shut up."

"Hey, I like bunnies," Sirius grinned.

"Yes, you like setting bunnies' tails on fire."

He nodded enthusiastically. "Where are we going?"

Remus shrugged.

"Let's go outside."

Remus looked at his watch, and nodded. They sat out by the lake, against a beech tree, eating. "Hey, did you hear about that kid who tried to climb that big willow tree there?"

"Yeah, he did it on a dare," Remus said. "Idiot, if you ask me."

"People are trying to see who can touch the trunk without getting smashed," Sirius laughed. "Even the seventh-years can't do it."

They chatted for a bit, until Remus decided that he really needed to go see Pomfrey. "I'm going to go in," he said after a stretch of comfortable silence. He stood up and brushed off his pants.

Sirius frowned. "You're disappearing."

Remus glanced up, shook his head, and walked away. He hated lying to Sirius, and he knew that he would absolutely have to find an excuse as to why he kept disappearing. He checked back to make sure Sirius hadn't followed him, and found an empty room with a fireplace, from which he Flooed to the infirmary. Pomfrey smiled as he tumbled out of her fire, and helped him up. "You're not due for over an hour," she said.

"I had to get away," Remus said. "Sirius-" he stopped speaking suddenly, looking around the room at the other beds.

"It's empty, for once. You can speak freely," Pomfrey said, and motioned for him to continue speaking.

Remus sighed, falling back onto a bed. "Sirius is really getting suspicious. He's trying to guess where I keep disappearing. He even went as far as to ask if I'm sneaking out to see a girl or go drink or get stoned."

"You'd better not be," Pomfrey scolded. "Although," she added, smiling slightly, "A moderate bit of Firewhiskey could do wonders for those nerves of yours. Come here," she said. "Help me organize the stores."

Remus followed her into the back, where there was a large room filled with all sorts of bottles of potions, muggle pills, and other supplies. "Everything has a date on it. If the date has already passed, put the bottle over there," she said, pointing to a cart in the center of the room, "Then find whatever it is on the list there and write the number of bottles that were expired."

"That's easy enough," Remus shrugged, and set to work while they talked.

"Have you considered telling your friends that you're a Werewolf?" the witch suggested.

Remus shook his head. "I _can't_."

"I don't see why not. You're talking about Sirius Black, right?"

"Yeah."

"The infamous Black of Gryffindor," Pomfrey said, sighing. "Why don't you say something about...vampires, for instance, and see what he thinks of them. Your other friends, too. You're obviously _not_ a vampire, so they won't think anything of it, right? And I know a vampire is completely different than a werewolf, but the same bad reputation follows each. I knew a _lovely_ girl who was actually a vampire. It's terrible that they didn't let her go to school, because she's always been exceptionally bright. Kind of like yourself, you know."

"I'd never thought of doing that," Remus admitted. In fact, he had never considered the possibility that he would ever be able to attend Hogwarts if anyone found out. Were there really people willing to accept a classmate as a Dark creature? No one would befriend him, but he would have an education, at the very least. "Sirius would think I were insane, but he already _does_...Say, has Sirius been in here recently for hexes or bruises or anything?"

Pomfrey raised her eyebrows. "Patient confidentiality," she reminded. "You should know all about that."

"Of course. But you already told me what I need to know."

"Oh, I did?"

"Yes. You've obviously seen to him if you have something to keep confidential."

Madam Pomfrey laughed. "I knew you were smart."

Remus busied himself for the next hour, before Pomfrey Flooed him to the 'Shrieking Shack', as it was unofficially, but widely named now. She saw that he was safely inside and left, and stripped and put his clothes in the bedroom safely and put his wand above the door before he sunk into the low couch to wait for moonrise.

If Sirius suspected him, it would only be a matter of time before he found out. James and Peter were perhaps curious as to where he went, but they really weren't a problem for Remus. Sirius, on the other hand...

He acted worse, if anything compared to the other two. He was more arrogant than James, and more insecure than Peter, and he may have been almost as secretive as Remus himself was, but he was _intelligent_, too, and that's what scared Remus. He knew that Sirius would find out some day, and that would mean the end of everything for Remus, because coming to Hogwarts had been a dream he had never even considered a possibility until just under a year ago. Hogwarts was his _freedom_ -to associate with people and live the normal life of a twelve year-old wizard, if only just for a while.

Remus wrapped his arms tighter around himself, and took a deep breath of the Shack's stifling, dust-thick air as he felt the transformation approaching.

To his surprise, Pomfrey informed him, upon returning to the castle, that Dumbledore wished to speak with him sometime that day. Remus hurriedly ate a large platter of breakfast, and, with Pomfrey's expert healing, went up to his office.

Remus stopped at the stone gargoyle outside his door and cursed his luck. He didn't know the password. "Um...Sugar Quills? Ice Mice? Cockroach Clusters? Pepper Imps? Exploding Bonbons? Chocolate Frogs? Bertie Botts?"

"Try Tooth-flossing Stringmints," someone suggested, from behind him. Remus turned to find Lily Evans smiling at him as the gargoyle opened. "I was up there a week ago," she said. "Did the Marauders get you in trouble again?"

"I hope not," Remus laughed, and went up. Lily was probably on her way to the dungeons again to meet Snape. He couldn't' understand their relationship, because they acted as if they were complete strangers sometimes, but there was some sort of underlying affection that seemed to make the bloody git, Snape, be respectful to Lily, even though he renounced all other association with muggleborns.

Remus decided not to dwell on it, and knocked on Dumbledore's door.

"Come in," he said, and Remus entered to fin the man sitting at his desk, smiling. "Ah, Mr. Lupin. Tea?" he offered. He politely declined, and the Headmaster clasped his hands on the desk in front of him. "I wanted to speak with you about your situation here at Hogwarts," he said. "And, he added quickly, before Remus could speak, "I would like to assure you that you _will_ receive a full seven years of education here at Hogwarts, werewolf or no."

Remus wasn't sure what to say. Pomfrey was a hypocrite. 'Patient confidentiality' extended to everyone, including Headmasters, right? So why had she taken his personal problems to Dumbledore?

"You've been here for a year, now," Dumbledore said. "I am told that you are one of the top students in your class, and you are _relatively_ well-behaved, although I will assume that most of your mischief is influenced by your Marauder friends," he smiled. "Are you well, then?"

Remus hesitated. "I am well. Even some of my transformations haven't been as bad since Hogwarts, but..."

"You're worried that your friends will find out that you are a werewolf?" Dumbledore said helpfully.

He nodded. "Sirius Black, especially. He knows I'm hiding something, he just hasn't figured it out. Yet."

Dumbledore looked at Remus is thought for a moment before he smiled again. "Mr. Lupin, I have no doubt that Mr. Black will find out. I only know of his troublemaking, but he seems like a bright young man. Gifted, as you are yourself. You are aware, I should suppose, of the sort of home he comes from?"

"Yes."

"Then you know that he does not take to prejudice. I do not have the pleasure of knowing your other two friends, Mr. Potter and Mr. Pettigrew well enough to judge their characters, but I have faith that Black, at the least, will be able to see past the fact that you are a Werewolf."

He nodded.

"Remus," Dumbledore said, making the boy look up at the use of his first name. "Trust your friends. They are the most important people you will ever meet."

He nodded again, blankly, and was dismissed.

That night, Remus stayed in the common room late, staring into the fire while the book in his lap lay forgotten. "Remus, mate, what are you doing? It's bloody three o'clock."

James had wandered downstairs, wrapped in his red and gold sheets, and his hair even messier than usual. He rubbed his eyes and pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "Come up to bed."

"I'm not tired," Remus said, and it was true. He wasn't the least bit tired, even if he _was_ bored out of his wits.

James frowned. "Remus, have you been okay? You never sleep," he said. "And Sirius says you come back to the dormitory sometimes before dawn."

"I'm fine."

James sat down, rearranging his sheets so that he was still protected from the cool air of the castle. "Is it your Mum? Is she still sick?"

"James, go back to bed."

James didn't say anything. He just sat there for a few moments, motionless as he stared at the dying fire that glowed red hot on the two. "Sirius is worried about you," he said, and Remus looked up. James' face was blank and his voice emotionless.

His eyes were burning into Remus accusingly.

"I know."


	5. Epic Fail of the Summer

Title: The Legacy

By: b e f r e e

Summary: Best friends are fleeting, but Marauders are forever. It takes seven years to build a friendship, and a single day to break it.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter or Harry Potter related. It's all JKR's. If I owned it, I'd have something better to do than write fanfiction.

Warnings: **Spoilers!** For all books, including Deathly Hallows.

A/N: Thank you for all the great reviews and favs! I never expected to get so much feedback! Constructive criticism is welcome too! (I feel like I'm moving the story along too fast, do you think? Please **read **and **review**! Thanks!

**The Legacy**

**Chapter Five**

Remus set his quill down and looked around the Transfiguration classroom. It was Friday, and the exam in front of him would be his final grade until the next year. Hogwarts would let out in a week's time.

"This was easy, huh?" Sirius whispered to James, in front of him. James nodded, grinning. James, Sirius, and Remus were the only people in the room who had finished so far. Looking to the front of the room, Remus saw that there were twenty minutes until class ended and sighed. Peter was making small, frantic noises next to him as he chewed the end of his quill until it bent, and Remus felt a strong urge to _Scougriffy_ it. He refrained from it, and watched James and Sirius play tic-tac-toe on their desk until McGonogall went up to them, silently, and took their quills and exams away from them. Scanning the room, she collected Remus', Lily's, and Dorrie's papers as well.

They cheered when the bell finally rang.

"You, Marauders," McGonogall said, stopping the four. "I have received a little _tip_ that you plan on finishing off the year with a _bang_, and I would _not_ like to see you causing any trouble. We will be watching you so don't even _try_ whatever you're planning. Now get out of my sight."

"I actually don't know what she means," Sirius said, as they exited to the corridor. "Were we planning anything?"

They shook their heads, and James grinned. "Well, we shouldn't disappoint people, right? We have to live up to expectations and end the year on a high note."

"We should play a prank on the entire school," Peter said. "Something harmless, though."

Remus groaned. He had a strong feeling he was going to start his second year at Hogwarts off with a solid month of detentions.

Maybe he could find a way to get out of it.

Or maybe Remus would just make sure he wasn't caught.

The Marauders had a brilliant plan. It was all set up, and everyone was going about the day like normal. They had enlisted the help of a third-year Huffelpuff called Bertha Jorkins, who they had sworn to secrecy. Even as she ran through the front doors of the castle and into the Great Hall in the middle of dinnertime, she still didn't know the full extent of their plans or who was involved. She only did what Sirius had asked of her, and she pulled it off perfectly.

Bertha burst into the Great Hall, and scampered to the Professors' table. "Professor Dumbledore!" she said, and her voice was loud enough to carry across the room, which had gone silent at her entrance. "There's something weird with the lake!"

"What do you mean, Miss Jorkins?" The old man asked calmly.

"It's _empty_!"

Dumbledore furrowed his brows, and got up. The students remained in their seats until he had left the hall, closely flanked by the Professors, and suddenly, everyone was talking loudly as the benches scraped and people headed for the exit. Only a few people stayed behind to finish their dinners, and the rest curiously filed outside. The Marauders showed no outside sign that they knew anything more than any other student did, but they were waiting, anxiously, for the next part of the show to begin. The school crowded around the lake, which was, indeed, dry right down to the tiny bit of water that was left laying in the bottom of the bed, where there were merpeople screeching at the surface, waving harpoons at them, some attempting to throw the weapons up the cliff-like walls of the lakebed. The water at the bottom was thick with weeds and logs and algae, and the mermen fought with it in frustration.

"Where'd all the water _go_?"

"Ew! Mermaids are ugly!"

"That bloody _sound_."

"That's what a merperson sounds like above water? That's horrible!"

"They're not pretty at all!"

"But what _happened_ to all of the water?"

Remus tried not to look up, honestly, but it was impossible. As the first drop hit him square on the nose, he knew what was coming. He took a deep breath and tilted his head up, and took a peek at the sky. He wasn't the only one to notice that it had just gotten a _lot_ darker outside.

There, above them, was a thick atmosphere that contained each and every drop of water taken form the lake hovered above the school, and it quivered for a moment, the water rippling and throwing a too-bright reflection of the sun on the ground, before it broke.

Like a great, invisible water balloon, the lake water seemed to pop from its glass confines and fell.

"Oh shit!"

"This is more water than I thought it'd be," James said suddenly.

Sirius's arm was around James, Peter, and Remus as he laughed. "Hope you wanted a shower."

"_**POTTER! BLACK!**_"

They didn't get detention. In fact, the Marauders didn't even loose house points, because their prank had been so absolutely idiotic and couldn't be traced back to any student in the school. Dumbledore made it very clear, however, that he knew they had done it. "I have no proof, I'm afraid," The man had told them, as they sat in a row in front of his desk. "But since this was a generally harmless, and, if I may say so myself, quite amusing prank, it will have to go unpunished. You got lucky, boys," he had added, and dismissed them, wishing them a nice vacation.

Remus stood on the platform, waiting for his father. James was greeting an aging, obviously wealthy couple who may have been either his parents of grandparents, and Peter was being coddled by a short, pump woman in violet robes.

"Where are your folks?" Sirius asked, making Remus jump. He'd forgotten Sirius was behind him.

"Don't know. Yours?"

"No idea."

They looked around the platform, and as people began to clear out, a voice called, coldly, "Sirius Orion Black."

Remus looked at the woman, in expensive black and silver robes and heels, and with her long hair tied into a tight knot behind her, making her look as stern as Professor McGonogall. This woman, however, looked positively vile, whereas McGonogall could be kind, at times, Mrs. Black looked like the kind of woman who would kick a starving puppy, and Remus didn't doubt for a moment that she would relish in the act.

Sirius glanced at Remus for a moment. "See you in three months," he said quietly, and hurried over to his mother, leaving Remus frowning in his wake.

It took Remus another minute to find his father, leaning against the back wall and looking over other people's heads. "Hey, kid," he smiled. Remus' father was a fairly average man, with brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a set of navy blue robes-his good ones, because he had just gotten off of work.

"Hi, Dad."

"Ready?" He nodded. "Said 'goodbye' to your friends?"

Remus nodded again, and his father smiled.

"Alright, give me your trunk and let's go. Your mother agreed to make dragon steak."

Remus grinned. It was his favorite.

"Come on, we'll take the Knight Bus."

Remus sat in the kitchen with his father, waiting for his mother to get home. "So, what are your friends like?" his father asked. "The 'Marauders'?" he said uncertainly.

"Uh yeah. That was McGonogall's name for us. I guess she told you then?"

He nodded, smirking.

"Well, Peter's really shy. Not too bright, but he's funny. Then there's James, who's actually fairly intelligent if he sets his mind to something, but he really just likes to find new and inventive ways to prank Slytherins."

"So _he's_ the one responsible for all of the owls I get?" his father asked, smiling. Remus knew he wasn't in trouble, though.

"Snape deserves it. He's always calling muggleborns 'mudblood' and going on about how much better Slytherins are."

"So what about your other friend? Minerva tells me you're quite the four."

"That'd be Sirius. He's _brilliant_ even if he is the laziest person I know. He follows James most of the time, really."

"And are any of them likely to find out?" he asked, more seriously now.

Remus hesitated.

"Who is it?" his father asked.

"Sirius is smart, Dad." Remus fidgeted.

"Don't tell your mother that, then. I'll figure something out for you, okay?"

Remus nodded. "He already suspects...Dumbledore says I should just tell them. He's bloody mad if you ask me."

"Language, Remus," his father reminded. "What's the boy's name, again?"

"Sirius Black."

"_Black_?" he said sharply.

"Yes, he's a Black. He's not a horrible pureblooded bigot, though. He hates his family, and they don't care for him, either."

"He's still a _Black_, Remus. They'll inbred maniacs!"

"He's the best friend I have!" Remus defended. "Sirius isn't horrible, no matter what people think," he said stubbornly.

"What's all this racket, John?" came a woman's voice, as the front door opened. Remus' father looked at him once, pointedly, and he stood up to greet his wife. "Oh, _Remus_!" she nearly squealed, and the blonde woman enveloped him in a tight embrace.

Remus groaned. He missed his friends already.

Remus kept regular correspondence with his friends over the summer.

_9 June 1971_

_Remus,_

_How's your summer so far? Did Peter tell you yet? He's in America visiting Massachusetts. Maybe he'll see the Salem Witches institute. Have you heard from Sirius? I tried to owl him a week ago because I still have his stupid books and he never returned my letter. Should I be worried or did the owl just die mid-flight? _

_-James_

_10 June 1971_

_James, _

_My summer's been pretty boring. I can read in peace, though, without you three interrupting me to go prank Snape. I wrote to Sirius two days ago too, and I haven't gotten any reply. I'll send another owl today. _

_Did you go on vacation yet? Have fun in Africa. Next time you write to Peter, tell him it's nothing personal that I haven't contacted him, I'm just afraid my bird won't make it over the ocean. Thanks._

_-Remus_

_10 June 1971_

_Sirius,_

_Is everything all right? Please reply if you get this letter. James and I are wondering if a dragon picked you out of the street. Seriously, we're worried. Write back to us, please. _

_-Remus_

After another full week, however, neither James or Remus had received any reply from him, and they had even sent word to Peter in America, who had not contacted him either, but that was a long shot in the beginning. Remus was sitting in his bedroom on his sunken, squeaking bed reading when a familiar barn owl dropped a letter on his lap.

_17 June 1971_

_Remus,_

_My Dad is going to check out the Black house tomorrow. He works for the ministry, and there's reasonable suspicion that the Black's have a Class One Trade Item illegally in their possession. He promised to see if Sirius was there. I'll write back the details tomorrow afternoon._

_-James_

_18 June 1971_

_Remus,_

_Sirius is okay, physically, I guess. His parents won't let him talk to us because you and Peter aren't pureblood and because I'm supposedly a blood traitor. She's a real hag from what Dad tells me. They're trying to get him moved to Slytherin house. _

_-James_

_18 June 1971_

_James, _

_They can't change his house, no matter now much money they have. The sorting hat's decision is final. But they can pull him out of school altogether. Is there anything the Ministry can do, you think?_

_-Remus_

Remus heard very little for another month, during which James wrote occasionally, to tell him that his Dad wasn't going to let Sirius be pulled from Hogwarts, and Peter wrote once to catch up. Remus and James both still sent letters out to Sirius' house daily just to annoy his parents, in the hope that one of them would reach Sirius eventually. When July rolled around, however, they still hadn't received any response other than a few Howlers telling them to quit writing. They persisted, however, and at long last, James wrote to Remus with a plan.

_16 July 1971_

_Remus,_

_I'm going to get Sirius and I'm bringing him back to my house for the next two weeks. I'm going tonight. Can you come? And do you have a broom?_

_-James_

_I'll be there. And of course I have a broom. I'm not a muggle._

_-Remus_

_Floo to my fireplace at eleven tonight. It's the red room, second floor, Potter Estate main house. _

_-James_

Remus' father was at work by eleven that night, and his mother was snoring in the bedroom next to his. He checked the hallway, just to be sure, and went downstairs. They had a plan, at least, because Remus wasn't _completely_ idiotic. Or maybe he was, he reconsidered, as he threw a bit of Floo Powder into the fireplace. The once cold hearth sprang to life in the form of bright green flames, and Remus stepped into then quickly. "Red room, second floor, Potter Estate Main house," he said quickly.

The floor he landed on was soft. Remus pulled himself up gracefully and looked around. The room was, indeed, a bright red, but he didn't see James. Then again, it was still a few minutes until eleven. Remus set his broom against the large mahogany bed in the center of the room, and looked around. It was dark, but he could see that even this guest room was spacious and the bed was huge. There was a portrait of a large woman in gold robes looking at him with raised eyebrows. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Shhh. I'm a friend of James'," Remus pleaded.

"Oh? What's your name? I'll go tell him you're here."

"Remus Lupin."

"Okay," she whispered, and disappeared from her frame, only to reappear a moment later. "He's coming. Good luck tonight, then, young Mr. Lupin."

James entered after a few minutes with a broom in one hand and his invisibility cloak draped over his arm. "Hey," he grinned.

Behind him, the blonde head of Peter appeared, grinning. "What's up?"

Remus grinned back. "I guess you got back from vacation, then?"

Peter grinned.

"Let's get Sirius," James said.

"I _am_ being serious." Remus told him.

"No, I mean go get Sirius, as in....nevermind."

"That's such a lame pun," Peter laughed.

"Uh-shouldn't you be a little quieter?" Remus asked.

"Why? My parents won't wake up, they're on the other side of the house," James said. "Follow me," he said, and opened the door back up.

The Potter Estate was enormous, and while it wasn't overly ornate, it was extremely clean and everything was obviously expensive. Remus watched the portraits on the walls as they slept, some snoring, and one or two glanced at the two boys as they passed. "Will they tell your parents where we are?"

"Nope," James said. "The only ones who would say anything are in the other wings. Here," he stopped at a wooden door like any other in the hallway and pushed it open. After a flight of stairs and a second door, Remus found that he was on the roof of the house.

"Ready?" James grinned.

Remus nodded. He _really_ didn't like flying, but it had to be done, he supposed. He mounted after a moment's hesitation, in which James had already gotten up into the air and was waiting for him with his toes on the balustrade.

He was nervous as they flew. Remus watched the comforting view of the ground fall further below him until it was obscured into darkness and the air around him began to chill.

"You alright?" James called, slowing down. Peter slowed as well, only a little ways behind James.

Remus looked away from the ground and nodded. Every few minutes, they saw a light or two on the ground, a tiny pinprick of white coming from a window or a car. "Do we know where we're going?"

James laughed. "You don't have any faith in me!" he accused. "Wait a moment."

James stopped abruptly, and dug something out of his pocket while Remus scowled at him for the sudden brake.

"What are you doing?" Peter yelled.

"Point me." James had set his wand in his palm and whispered something, and the wand began to spin around. It stopped pointing a few degrees North of where they were headed.

"Sirius' house is that way," James said.

So they set off in that direction.

It seemed to take forever to get there, but they finally reached the heart of Muggle London, and James' wand was pointing downwards, just a little ways in front of them. "James," Peter said suddenly, "How are we going to find his house?"

"What do you mean, it's right down there."

"No, I mean with the spells on it and all."

James and Remus looked at Peter for a moment, suspended motionless in the chill air a mile over London.

Peter continued, "He told me once, there are all sorts of protective spells on his house and only people who are shown there or invited can get in, plus no one can apparate in or out."

"Did you ever think to tell us this _before_?" James asked incredulously.

Remus stared in disbelief. "How are we supposed to get in, then?"

Peter looked at the two sheepishly. "I don't know. I'd assumed you two knew about that."

James and Remus shook their heads.

...

"**Peter!**"

"Shit."

"I'd say," Remus said hollowly, looking out over Peter's shoulder. "Who is that?"

James and Peter turned and stared at the sky where Remus was pointing. Two figures on broomsticks were flying rapidly toward them. The three boys were still as they strained their eyes to watch the silhouettes.

"Who is it?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe it's his parents?" Peter said suddenly.

"Why would his stuck-up parents be flying home past midnight, you idiot?"

"Should we go...hide?"

"What if it's the Ministry coming because we're flying too low?" Remus asked. "Maybe a muggle saw us?"

James looked at him, but it was really too late to do anything now, because the two strange flyers were drawing closer to them. One sped up even more and braked right in front of them, and Peter was the first to react. "_You_!"

The man's face was all too familiar, and bore such a resemblance to Peter that James laughed. "You must be Pete's dad?" he asked.

Peter's eyes widened.

The man didn't look happy, and neither did the other man who flew up next to him.

Now it was James' turn to freeze up, as the aging man with dark, once-black, and rather messy hair stopped beside Mr. Pettigrew.

"Bill, do you think we should hex them _now_ or wait until we get on the ground?"

"Ground, please. I don't fancy dropping my wand into muggle London," he replied coolly, and motioned for the three boys to descend.

"Wait a second," Mr. Potter said, as they neared the ground, "I remember this place. What are you three up to with the Black family?"

"We want to find Sirius!" James said.

The men looked at his son and then to the other two boys, and finally back to Mr. Pettigrew. "Boys, do you realize that you can't get in that house?"

"Well, we know that _now_," James said, rolling his eyes at Peter.

"Hey, I didn't _know_!"

"Boys!" James' father said, and they shut up. "Why don't I go and speak with the Blacks tomorrow, and you three can let the adults handle things," he said.

"But Sirius is-"

"Is perfectly fine, I'm sure. Even if he doesn't like it there, that's his home," Mr. Potter said. "His parents are not pleasant, but they are not abusive." The five landed on the ground softly, and Mr. Potter looked around him quickly, and took James' and Remus' arms tight and disapparated. Beside them, Peter and his father did the same.

They had apparated into the Potters' Estate again, and Remus, Peter, and James were sat down on a sofa in a luxurious den, where Peter's father watched over them with his arms crossed. James' father had excused himself for a moment.

"So, anything to say, boys?" the man asked.

Remus thought that he really did look a lot like Peter. He had a round face, a rather prominent belly, and a patch of blond hair atop his fat head. He had the same eyes as Peter, too. Small and beady, but Mr. Pettigrew was decidedly wittier than Peter would ever be.

"You know, we didn't really do anything," James said.

"We just wanted to help Sirius," Remus added.

"We'll do what we can," the man said. "The _adults."_

The three sat in silence for another few minutes, and Peter was yawning rather widely when James' father returned. Behind him was a tall, black-haired woman in her dressing gown and a groggy-looking man in pajamas and a flannel jacket. The woman sat on a sofa across from them, yawning.

"Remus," the second man said, blinking a little in the bright white room, "What in Merlin's name were you thinking? Why'd you three sneak out?"

"John, they went to London by broom to find their friend who they believe is being abused by his family. He's fine, I'm sure, but these three got the idea into their heads and now..."

"I see." Remus' father blinked, and turned to address the boys, "So, you're the infamous Marauders I get so many owls about, huh? And I guess the other one would be the Black kid?"

"Yes," Mr. Pettigrew answered for them. "A load of trouble if you ask me."

"Sirius?" James said. "He didn't do anything!"

"It's very nice and all for you to defend your little friend, but I think it's obvious that he's the lead troublemaker of this little gang," Mr. Pettigrew said.

"I think we're all a little responsible for the pranks and everything," Remus said. "Sirius can't take the blame for all of us."

The man looked at Remus and ignored him. Instead, he turned to Mr. Potter and his wife and said, "Thank you, Harold. I think we should go now. It's awfully late."

"Of course," Mrs. Potter said, standing up from the couch. As she saw the Pettigrews off, she was in a zombie-like state that would have been rather amusing if they weren't all a little too tired.

"Come on, Remus," his father said.

"Sorry about this all, John," James' father said.

He shook his head. "Thank you. Are you going to go see the Blacks tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"I'll come with you, if you wouldn't mind it."

"I'd love the company, after all that house is downright spooky, but can you get in? The Blacks are very old-fashioned. They've cursed their house so that only pureblooded wizards and their house-elves can get in."

"So that's how it works," Remus said aloud to himself, and James laughed at him.

John Lupin frowned. "Should've known they'd do something like that."

Mr. Potter nodded. "The boy is nothing like his family. I'll see them tomorrow, and I know a sure way to get the kid out of there. I'll send word tomorrow afternoon."

"Thank you, Harold," Lupin said, and they shook hands before he took Remus back into the hallway where the fireplace was.

"Write me," Remus said before he and James parted.

James grinned and nodded.


	6. Seriously Sirius

Title: The Legacy

By: b e f r e e

Summary: Best friends are fleeting, but Marauders are forever. It takes seven years to build a friendship, and a single day to break it.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter or Harry Potter related. It's all JKR's. If I owned it, I'd have something better to do than write fanfiction.

Warnings: **Spoilers!** For all books, including Deathly Hallows.

A/N: Please **Read **and **Review**! Thank you!

**The Legacy**

**Chapter Six**

Remus was not told the details of exactly how it had happened, but Sirius had been taken from Grimwauld Place in London the next day and stayed at the Potters' for the remaining month and a half. The moons that summer were a little more rough than they had been the last few months at Hogwarts, and Remus suspected that his growing anxiety about his friends was to blame. When September first came around, Remus' mother, who had the day off of work, accompanied him to the train. His old schoolbooks had been traded into the bookshop for the second year selection, and were currently stacked in the old trunk that had once belonged to his father. He still wore his old robes, but Remus hadn't grown much so it didn't matter.

"Hey!" Remus almost jumped when James' voice sang into his ear rather loudly, in Remus' opinion. Sirius was standing behind him, grinning.

"What's up?"

Peter arrived before long too, and they spent the train ride catching up. Peter had spent a month in New England, in America, and James had gone to visit some relatives on the beach the few weeks before Sirius had arrived at his house. Sirius hadn't said much, and Remus hadn't done much either.

A week into the school year, the Marauders were settling back into their old routines, and that included detention. Remus' first detention was served with Sirius, because once again, he had been dragged into a fight with the Slytherins. At least he had won.

"I'm bored," Sirius whined.

"Pass me the next barrel."

Sirius wrinkled his nose and kicked a large barrel of Flobberworms toward Remus. Gutting worms was _not_ his idea of a fun evening.

"Summer sucked, and even at James' place, I kind of didn't want to piss off his parents, ya know?"

Remus nodded. "My summer was boring too."

"But I bet all you did was _read_, and you actually like to read, so you shouldn't complain."

"You got to be with James the whole summer."

"Half, and the other half was a bloody nightmare." Sirius drove his knife into the Flobberworm rather violently. "Stupid parents-" he tore out the guts and flicked them into a bowl, tossing the excess aside. "They tried to send me to Durmstrang! Can you believe it? That place is a breeding ground for Death Eaters! They wouldn't transfer me, though, so they tried to switch me to Slytherin House, which Dumbledore wouldn't allow. Thank goodness. Think-I would have to share a dormitory with _Snivellus_."

Remus laughed.

"Bloody vampire, he is," Sirius stabbed another Flobberworm and threw the guts into the bowl.

Remus paused his work for a moment, remembering Pomfrey's advice last year.

"You know, I read a few books on vampires this summer, and they're actually pretty cool."

Sirius shrugged. "Yeah, but that's not the _point_. I wouldn't like a vampire Snape flying around the school."

"Still, what if it wasn't Snape?" Remus persisted.

Sirius threw an empty Flobberworm in the pile. "Then I might have to ask the guy to show me his fangs," he grinned. "You're not a vampire, now, are you Remus?" Sirius laughed.

"I can see my reflection just fine, thanks."

"Good to know," he grinned. "Although, you _are_ prone to an awful lot of nighttime wanderings."

"I get _hungry_."

"What are you, a girl? You sneak out every month to get chocolate from the elves?" Sirius teased. "Or are you sneaking out to get chocolate for _Dorrie_?"

Remus was panicking. Sirius had realized the pattern to his disappearances now, it seemed. He knew that it was once a month, which meant it was only a matter of time before he figured it out, if he hadn't already...

"Dorrie and I are _friends_, Sirius. It's called having a platonic relationship with a member of the opposite gender." Remus reminded himself to be cool. Play it off as nothing, and maybe he would forget about it.

"Yeah, yeah, stop using big words," Sirius said, rolling his eyes and gutting another Flobberworm. There was a moment, and Sirius said, "Are you ever going to tell us what you're up to?"

Remus chose the tried and true method of ignoring Sirius, but the boy persisted.

"Remus, you know I'm not just trying to pry into your personal life, here. It's just that once a month, you go off in the evening and come back the next day scratched up and bruised. And one time you went back to class the day after one of your disappearances-_yes_ I noticed. The others might be idiots, but you're not very good at lying," Sirius said. "But you came back the next day and you were dead tired and didn't even take notes in Transfiguration. James even noticed that one, by the way. Peter's still clueless, but he's aware that something's up."

"Sirius-" Remus said sharply. He had stopped working, and Sirius was staring him down like a dog. Sirius let the silence lay thick between them, and Remus had nothing to say.

"Slughorn will be back soon," Remus said finally, and picked up his knife again.

Sirius hesitated. "You're going to disappear tomorrow evening."

To Remus's relief and horror, Horace Slughorn chose that moment to walk in.

"What are you boys arguing about?"

"Nothing," Sirius said.

The man didn't seem to care much, and shrugged. "Black, get out of here. Lupin, I want a word," he said. Sirius glanced at Remus momentarily, and left silently.

Remus approached Slughorn's desk as the man shut the door with a flick of his wand. "Lupin, I hate to use you as an experiment, but I have a new potion for you," he said.

"I'll try it," Remus said immediately.

Slughorn nodded. "You're a brave kid. How the Hell do you know I'm not trying to poison you? Or worse?" The man said gruffly as he fished around in his desk drawer.

"Because your last potion worked wonders," Remus said.

Slughorn smiled. "You're a bright one, kid." Slughorn handed him a vial. "Take half the bottle before the transformation, half after. I'm hoping it might do _something_ to lessen the pain. It should work afterwards, if nothing else."

"Thank you, professor."

The man nodded. "It'll be curfew soon. You'd better get going."

Remus made to leave, and as he opened the door, Slughorn added, "Nice essay on the use of Doxie venom, also. You'd make a fine potions theorist, and your brewing hasn't been terrible so far."

"Thank you, professor, but I'm not really interested in potions. I like Defense Against the Dark Arts much better."

The man chuckled, his large stomach rippling. "Ironic, isn't it?"

"Defense against one's self, in my case, I suppose," Remus allowed a small smile, and left the room. The corridor was empty, and as he walked, Remus took out the vial and inspected it. The thick, translucent red liquid inside resembled blood, but it smelled strongly like acrid soda, just like any other pain-killing potion.

"What's that?"

Remus jumped as Sirius came out from behind a tapestry ahead of him. "Where does that go?" he asked, indicating the passage.

"Goes from the painting of the field to here, and there's another passage, but it seems to have been blocked. Caved in," he said, and as he spoke, Remus slipped the potion back into his robes discreetly.

"Oh."

"So what was that red stuff? Potion?"

"Um-"

"Or let me guess, it's a secret, huh?" Sirius said, suddenly moody.

"No. It's a painkiller. I've been having headaches lately," Remus said. The first part wasn't a lie, at least.

"Painkilling potions aren't red."

"This one is for migraines, specifically."

"If you'd been in class the second to last time you disappeared last year, you'd remember that we made a migraine potion, and they're green, not red. What's in the vial, Remus?"

"Drop it, _please_."

Sirius scowled and crossed his arms. After a few moments of silence, he yawned. "I have to do my astronomy homework still...stupid Sinistra giving us midnight lessons. 'Oh, but you can't see the stars in the daytime!'" He mocked. "That class is a load of bull anyways."

Remus nodded.

They remained silent again until they reached the common room and sat down in front of the fireplace to wait for James and Peter to get off detention. "McGonogall won't let them off until later," Sirius said, as he brought out his books. "She's always like that."

Remus agreed, and began to read the latest novel he'd ordered from Diagon Alley, _Heart of Darkness_.

"Remus," Sirius said suddenly, shuffling through his papers, "Do you have your potions work with you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"The notes from last year, too?"

Remus nodded.

"Can I borrow them? I don't want to run all the way upstairs, and your writing is neater than mine anyways."

Remus kicked his schoolbag toward Sirius and went back to his reading. It really was a great book. Remus was absorbed in the story when he noticed that Sirius had gone to speak with a third-year girl called Glenshaw and was sitting on her sofa laughing, and rifling through a textbook. Remus wondered what he was doing, but shrugged it off. It was getting noisy in the common room now, as students began coming in before curfew, and Remus ascended the stairs to the boys' dormitory, flopped down on his bed, and continued to read.

He heard the door open, and assumed that Peter and James were probably back, but when a piece of paper was thrown on top of his book, he looked up to find Sirius.

"Hey! I was trying to-" Remus froze, looking at the paper before him. It was a year calendar, ripped out of a book, showing the phases of the moon, and on each month, the full moon was circled in purple ink.

Remus stared, frozen for a moment as his heart beat quickly, and reached for his wand.

The door opened again at that moment, and Remus and Sirius looked up to find James and Peter walking in, looking rather foul. James stopped halfway to his bed. Sirius was standing with his arms crossed, leaning against Remus' bed, and as he lay there, Remus looked rather pale.

"Hey James, Peter!" Sirius said, and they both looked at him. "How was detention?"

"Sucked. How about you?"

"Gutted Flobberworms. We have a little more than half done, and another three barrels to do tomorrow night," Sirius said.

Remus blinked. Sirius knew, but he was acting like nothing happened. Did that mean he wasn't going to tell them? Or was he just going to wait until Remus admitted it?

"See you guys," Remus said suddenly, and left the room before any of them could protest or try to stop him.

"What's with him?" James asked, and broke the few moments of silence that Remus had left in his wake. They didn't know he was right on the other side of the door, watching through a crack.

"Um…guys, I have to tell you something," Sirius said.

James gasped dramatically. "Sirius, are you being..._serious_?"

"That's a lame joke, Pothead. I really have to talk to you. It's about Rem."

"What's the matter?"

Sirius sat down Indian-style on the bed behind him. "Eh-okay, you know how he disappears all the time? It's kind of like on a regular basis, you know?"

"Yeah, so?"

"He's always sick, and you know he always looks like he's been beat up-"

"Get to the bloody point,"

"Guys, you have to promise to keep this quiet. It's serious. Remus could get kicked out or worse. I mean like, in trouble with the Ministry kind of deal here."

James and Peter looked uneasily at each other, but both nodded. "Of course."

Sirius went back to Remus' bed and picked up the paper that he had shown to Remus, and dug another sheet out of his pocket.

"Read this."

James took the parchment and read aloud. "'Fatigued, thin, insomnia, large appetite, repeatedly sick, stressed, quick reflexes, frequent disappearances...' Sirius, what is this?"

"It's a list-"

"No shit, Sirius. It sounds like Remus. What does it describe?"

"A werewolf."


	7. Tea with the Transfiguration Prof

Title: The Legacy

By: b e f r e e

Summary: Best friends are fleeting, but Marauders are forever. It takes seven years to build a friendship, and a single day to break it.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter or Harry Potter related. It's all JKR's. If I owned it, I'd have something better to do than write fanfiction.

Warnings: **Spoilers!** For all books, including Deathly Hallows.

A/N: Please **Read **and **Review**! Thank you! This chapter is looong! 8 pages in word in a 10pt font! Enjoy!

**The Legacy**

**Chapter Seven**

"A werewolf."

Remus wanted to choke. He leaned up against the stone wall outside the dormitory and squeezed his eyes shut as if not seeing his friends' reaction would make them any more bearable.

"...You don't really think-"

Remus forced his eyes back open to look in.

"I checked it out. Look." Sirius threw the calendar down and the two boys looked at it closely. "Okay, I remember that Remus disappeared when we made the potions to get rid of migraines, and I looked at the date for it. Here," Sirius said, pointing to one moon. "And I remember that he was gone the day before Gryffindor won the House cup last year, and he was so tired he skipped the game. That was here," He pointed to the date of another full moon."

"Sirius, this..."

"Makes perfect sense," Sirius said. "Watch, he'll disappear tomorrow."

"How can you be sure?"

"I started to see this last year, and it's every month. He's like a bloody girl, only a really hair one."

James finally broke down and began to laugh, softly at first, until he was absolutely howling and beating the floor.

"Pete, you believe me, right?"

The blonde boy looked uneasy. "Remus can't be a werewolf," he said firmly. "He's...nice. And he's smart. He's not a monster."

Outside, Remus silently thanked Peter for saying it, even if he wasn't sure whether to believe it or not himself. He banged his head against the stone and cursed. He had to get out of there. He didn't want to be anywhere near them when they finally decided they all hated him.

"Werewolves aren't monsters more than a few hours a month, Pete," Sirius said. "And it explains things, doesn't it?"

James, who was still shaking slightly, but had recovered from his fit of laughter, said, "You've got a point, I'll admit, but I won't believe you until I see him go off tomorrow night."

Sirius frowned. "Just promise not to say anything to _anyone_ until we figure it out."

His friends nodded, and Sirius turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Peter asked.

Sirius looked at him oddly. "To find Remus," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and shut the dormitory door behind him.

"Do you really think..." Peter asked.

James was still standing in the middle of the room, staring at the calendar clutched in his hand. His grip tightened. "I don't know, but if he is a werewolf, I don't care. Remus isn't a monster, he's my friend, and that won't change if he gets a little bit hairy every once in a while."

Peter looked out the window, where the waxing moon looked full, then sunk into his bed.

Remus was wandering the halls on the fifth floor. He was aware that it was past curfew, but he didn't care. Sirius knew. And more importantly, he told two people already. It was only a matter of time before two became four, and four became the whole house, an the house became the whole school, and then the whole Wizarding world would know!

"Oh Merlin."

"Mr. Lupin?"

The boy jumped, freezing at the sound of Professor McGonogall's voice.

"I usually don't give my students the benefit of the doubt, but I have never found _you_ wandering the halls when unaccompanied by the other Marauders. Are you well, Mr. Lupin?"

"I'm fine, Professor."

The woman, in her tartan robes and ancient ugly hat, frowned. "You look troubled. Come," she said, and began to walk down the hall the way Remus had come. "Join me for tea."

Remus didn't have much of a choice. It was tea with the Transfiguration Professor, detention, or facing his friends, and right now, the first choice was sounding like the best. He followed the professor into her nearby office and took the seat opposite of her.

"What's the matter?"

Remus couldn't find a way to get around it, and sipped his tea before he answered. "Sirius knows what I am."

McGonogall frowned. "I don't see the problem. The student body and staff know nothing so he must not have told anyone. And you shouldn't speak of your lycanthropy as if it's a terrible thing. 'What you are,'" she scoffed. "You're a Werewolf, Remus."

"I know. And Sirius knows. And he's probably told James and Peter."

McGonogall set her drink down. "Has he just found out?"

"Tonight, I believe," Remus said, nodding.

"He's rather dense, isn't he? No matter. If you'd like, I will speak to your friends and reestablish the importance of keeping your condition a secret. Professor Dumbledore will want to speak with them, in any case."

"I understand, Professor."

McGonogall looked at him, setting her tea down, "Do you honestly think ill of any and every person who knows of your lycanthropy? There are people who _are_ able to recognize you for the human being you are. Madame Pomfrey, for one, most of your professors, including the Headmaster and myself, and I have every reason to believe that Mr. Black, at the very least, will not discontinue any friendship with you."

"Perhaps not, but the rest of the school-"

"Do their opinions matter?"

Remus stopped. McGonogall was rarely wrong about anything, Remus was well aware, but understanding human psyche was not the same as understanding how to transfigure a clothespin into an armchair.

"Why don't you go back to the Tower, and I'll turn a blind eye to your infraction, just this once," McGonogall suggested, as Remus finished his tea and set the empty cup down. She vanished their drinks in a moment, and he thanked her before he left.

"Remus?"

He jumped as he rounded the corner outside of McGonogall's office, finding himself face-to-face with none other than Sirius Black himself.

"Thank Merlin," Sirius said, and he let an arm fall around Remus' shoulders. "Get back to the dorm, won't ya?" Remus looked pale, and it didn't go unnoticed. "What's the matter?"

Remus stared at him. "You're...still going to speak to me?"

"Depends," Sirius said, shrugging, and Remus dreaded the words that might come out of his mouth next. Sirius, however, grinned. "Are you going to stop lying and admit you're a werewolf?"

Remus took a moment to comprehend what Sirius was saying, in which the arm over his neck began to push him along, back down the corridor and towards the Tower.

"I do have a few questions, Rem," Sirius admitted. "But I think we should wait until you tell James and Peter."

Remus allowed Sirius to lead him back to the Tower, and Remus was glad to find that Peter and James were asleep when he entered. Remus tugged his shirt off and kicked his shoes under the bed, and wandered into the bathroom. He looked up at his pale reflection in the mirror and sighed. He didn't think he was truly ugly, he was just sickly and thin. His hair was getting a little too long for his liking. It almost hit his shoulders at the ends now, and it made his already frail frame appear even more petite.

"Remus, what are you doing?"

He jumped as James' tired voice floated into the bathroom. James' face appeared there a moment later, blinking in the light. He adjusted his eyes to the brightness and leaned against the doorframe. "Is Sirius telling the truth?"

Remus looked up.

"Are you a werewolf?"

If James had asked it with any hint of a malicious tone, Remus would have run from the room then and there, but he had said it with a hint of curiosity, and the small, drowsy smile on James' face put him at ease.

Remus nodded jerkily.

"Awesome," James grinned. "G'night."

"...Goodnight."

"Come on, wake up before you miss breakfast!"

Remus groaned as Sirius tried to shake him awake. "Gnah..."

"Gnah? That's not a word, Remus. I realize you're a little stressed, but Merlin, you're the smart one! If you're unintelligible, the rest of us bloody idiots doomed! Now get up!"

Remus blinked as he sat up on his elbows. "You say weirder stuff in the mornings than James does at night."

"Huh?" James' head popped out his curtains, yawning.

"Let's go!" Sirius was bouncing, so they had no choice.

They suffered through an hour of Potions, followed by Herbology in the greenhouses. As soon as Sprout dismissed them, James Scougriffied his hands to remove the dirt under his fingernails and followed Peter and Sirius out of the greenhouse. Remus followed him.

"I say we skip History of Magic," Sirius said.

"I second the notion," James said.

"I second it too," Pete added.

"You mean you third it?"

"Um. Yeah. That."

Remus sighed. "You guys are going to make my grades fall."

"You have some explaining to do," Sirius reminded him.

Remus glanced at his friend nervously, looking for an excuse to leave them.

"Don't listen to Sirius," James said, laughing lightly. "He's just mad 'cause you didn't tell him."

Sirius stuck his tongue out at James, and Remus relaxed _slightly_.

Peter stayed silent. In fact, none of them said a word until they had wandered down to the lake and sat under the Marauders' favorite tree.

Remus dropped his schoolbag with a heavy thud on the hard ground. Sirius and James leaned up against the tree, like usual, and Peter dropped down beside James. Remus took his usual place next to Sirius, sitting Indian-style.

"Um...so...you're a werewolf," James said bluntly, making all four of them laugh at the awkwardness of the question.

"When were you bitten?" Sirius came out and asked.

"Well, I was little, only three, so I don't remember much," Remus fiddled with the hem of his robes.

"Do you remember what you do while you're transformed?" Peter asked.

"Not very often."

"And you have like...no control?" He shook his head. "That must be scary."

"But Remus, you must be the first werewolf to ever be let into this school!" James said.

"Yeah. Nor any other school, to my knowledge. It's not generally safe, but Dumbledore believes in giving everyone the chance to an education."

"So you just have to keep the furry little problem from the school...that's got to suck," James said, "But it explains why you were being a jerk to us."

"I'm sorry about that, guys. I'd never really considered that you'd be okay with my…um, 'furry little problem' as you put it," he cracked a nervous smile.

"Of course." Sirius smacked him around the head for good measure.

"Do you have like super strength or sense of smell or hearing and junk?"

"Nah. Not yet anyways. Some werewolves get higher senses, but we aren't as weak as we look, especially around the moon. I'm skinny, but I could throw Slughorn across the lake if I really wanted to. Plus we have damn good reflexes. Almost have to have them so we don't get shot."

"Awesome!" Pete was ignoring the 'getting shot' comment.

"Is that why you can see Threstals?" Sirius asked, a little quieter.

"Yeah. There were two muggle kids with me when I was bitten, and muggle children rarely survive a werewolf attack. There have probably only ever been three recorded cases of Muggle werewolves in history.

"That's horrible."

"What's a threstal?" Pete asked.

James seemed to just realize something. "Threstals pull the carriages!" he said suddenly.

"Nice work, detective. How did you figure that one out?" Sirius stuck his tongue out, and James huffed.

"So...does it hurt? To transform?"

Remus shrugged. "It's fine."

"You're lying," Sirius said. "It hurts like Hell."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize there was a polygraph in the room."

"A what?"

"Um nevermind. Muggle thing."

O...Kay...So it does hurt?"

"Mostly the spine and the skull. I don't know, it might be psychological, but I always feel like my brain is going to be squished one of these times."

"And what would a nerd do without his brain?" James grinned.

"Get fleas," Sirius answered.

"Hey, you scratch like a dog, so you don't have room to talk," Remus reminded him, and stuck his tongue out childishly.

"Guys," Peter fidgeted, "Someone's coming down here. We're going to get detention again."

"Oh shit."

McGonogall was striding across the lawn, frowning. "Boys, where are you supposed to be?" she asked, approaching them.

"Binns," James answered lightly. "Why?"

She glowered. "Fifteen points from Gryffindor, and you all have detention tonight, four o'clock," she said.

"Oh yeah," Sirius leaned in to Remus to speak so that McGonogall couldn't hear, or so he thought. "Do the staff know?"

"Huh?"

"About the-" He mouthed a small 'A-oooo!' like a wolf.

"Yeah, they all know," Remus laughed. "Nice impression."

"Boys, do you even _care_ that you're getting detention?" McGonogall looked down at them with her arms crossed.

"Not really. Sorry," James smiled.

"We had to discuss Remus' furry problems," Sirius added.

McGonogall glanced at the Werewolf. "Very well. Get back to class when you're finished here. Another fifteen points for your impudence, Potter." She walked away, to the disbelief of the four Gryffindor boys.

"Am I hallucinating?" James whispered loudly. "We got off with our heads attached. From McGonogall."

"It must be both of us, mate," Sirius said. "But we do have a detention," he added, crossing his arms.

"Come on, let's get out of here."

Their detentions were split again, Peter with James and Remus with Sirius. Today, they had Slughorn, who rarely stayed in detentions. Sirius and Remus lounged on a desk until he came.

"Look, boys," the man said as they approached his room, "I don't even know what you did this time, and I don't care. I just need some cauldrons cleaned. Do all of the copper cauldrons and the largest size pewter. Do the tiny silver ones if you get bored too, they're in the cupboard there," he said. "Give me your wands," he ordered.

Slughorn took their wands and wheezed his way to the door. "I have a party to go to," he said lightly, "I'm locking the door, and I'll be back at eight. Be done by then or stay until you finish." He shut the dungeon behind him and they heard him mutter a locking charm before he walked away.

Sirius grinned. "So, what do you want to do for the next four hours?"

Remus was confused. "We have to clean these," he said.

Sirius shook his head. "I gave him Pete's wand, actually," he said, holding up his own.

"You're brilliant," Remus laughed. "Have I told you that lately?"

Sirius grinned, and propped his feet up on the desk, leaning back. "Only now we're going to be bored. We need to find a way to communicate with James and Pete," he sighed. "Only they're working right now." Sirius stretched. "Why do they split us up anyways?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why do they always give us detention together, then James and Pete detention together? I mean, I understand that they don't trust James and I in the same room together, but why Pete?"

"Well, Peter has a tendency to _worship_ you as a _God_, in case you haven't noticed. The teachers figure he'll go along with anything you say."

"Wouldn't you?"

"I get enough detentions because of you all anyways," Remus said.

"They treat us like delinquents, you know," Sirius said. "We're actually intelligent, good-hearted people! Well, not Peter, but the rest of us."

"Since when?" Remus snorted.

"Hey! We do good things."

"Like what? Set people's underwear on fire? Vanish their wigs? Make girls grow mustaches?"

"Well...we _do_ do one good thing," Sirius frowned. "I'm not supposed to tell you this...James will be mad, but...what the Hell. We want to help you. James has been sneaking books out of the library on Werewolves at night. There's a lot of stuff in the restricted section we're still going through."

"What? I thought you two were sneaking out to drink! I can smell the Firewhiskey before I even open my curtains."

"Well, we do that too, but we want to find a way to cure your transformations, or at least make them better."

Remus, needless to say, was in disbelief. "Sirius, as much as I appreciate the efforts, there's no cure. I've tried a lot of treatments, and I've taken a lot of potions. Most of them just made me sick. I almost took a few that would have killed me. I've been lucky. The Ministry makes false lycanthropy treatments laced with wolfsbane and silver to kill us, but my parents always tested them before I took them."

"But...did others die from them?"

"Yeah."

Sirius let his feet down from the desk. "That's horrible. That's why we're going to find a way to make your monthly problems bearable. Like Midol for lycanthropy," Sirius grinned. "We actually found one book that had something helpful in it,"

Remus' head snapped up.

"One werewolf from the sixteen-hundreds wrote that she let the wolf have a tiny bit of control over her, increasingly in the days leading up to the moon, she was able to remain alert and conscious of everything she did when she transformed as long as the pain of transformation didn't break her concentration."

"But that's the exact opposite of when most experts will tell you. They all said to keep a 'tight leash', always use the same pun. Don't give up control when you're human and you'll stay in-control when you transform."

"But have you ever tried it?"

"No. It's dangerous. I don't know what I would do."

"I know what _you_ would do, but we don't know what the_ wolf_ would do."

Remus just looked at the floor, so Sirius fell silent

After a matter of seconds, Remus began to count down in his head. Five...four...three...two...one...

"Look-" Sirius sighed, and Remus smirked. Right on cue, Remus knew he couldn't stand not to talk for more than ten seconds. "Look, I know you think we're only pretending to be okay with this," Sirius said, "And honestly, I think Peter's afraid of you, but he afraid of a lot of people. I just think you need to know that not everyone wants to like...poison you," Sirius scrunched his nose in a funny expression. "James and I, at the very least," he smiled. He didn't grin, he didn't laugh, and he wasn't giving Remus one of his 'charming' smiles. He was for real. "We want to help you."

Remus almost believed him as he lay back against the cold stone floor. "My own parents are afraid of me!"

"Really, I don't think they are."

"No parent wants a werewolf for a son."

"And my parents don't want me for a son. So what? They've got to deal with it! At least yours don't threaten to disinherit you!"

"But yours don't pretend to love you when you know they hate you."

"You're being ridiculous," Sirius told him.

"I dunno…Depends how you look at it, I guess," Remus shrugged and they silently decided to let the topic drop.

"Exactly. Like...look at Dorcas Meadows," Sirius grinned, "She's not really all that from far away, but you get up close and she's a total babe."

"Dorrie would curse you to China," Remus smirked.

"Yep," he laughed.

"There's nothing wrong with her from far away, anyways."

"Well, she might be more your type, I guess. Smart _and_ hot."

"She's not my type, Sirius, and it wouldn't matter if she were."

Sirius cocked his head at Remus questioningly. He expected to see a furry ear perk up from beneath his long mane.

"Do you honestly think a girl wouldn't notice that I disappear every month?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "It wouldn't have to last that long."

"Oh yeah, you don't go out with the girls, you just snog them. I have a sense of morals, not to mention a reputation to uphold."

"You're just scared. You've never even kissed a girl, have you?"

"So what?"

"I bet you don't even know _how_ to kiss."

Remus, whose face was going very red by now, crossed his arms. "It's not exactly human transfiguration," he said. "Or 'rocket science' as Lily would say."

"What?"

"Apparently muggle rockets are hard to blow up," Remus shrugged. "Dorrie's been telling me about it too. They put people on the moon and put giant metal boxes in space, revolving around the Earth like a moon."

"Why? What good could a metal box possibly do for us down here?"

"Dorrie said the muggles use it to spy on one another."

"Why?"

"They're at war."

"They are?"

"Yep. They don't actually get out there and duel, they just spy on each other and make a bunch of weapons and build up their militaries. According to Dorrie, it's only a matter of time before all of the muggles kill one another. She tells me they have these bombs that will blow up entire cities all at once and the U.S.S.R. is hiding them in an island close to the U.S. and the U.S. is hiding theirs in a country next to the U.S.S.R."

"Muggles sound almost suicidal," Sirius frowned. "There's a war coming to the muggle world at the same time there's a war coming to the wizarding world. Did you read the paper this morning?"

"No, I was too worried about being kicked out the school for the last few days, thanks. Why?"

Sirius dug a ripped out _Prophet_ article and handed it to Remus. The article was tiny, from the bottom corner of D5, headlined in small bold letters. "'**Masked Wizard Tortures Muggles, Kills Muggleborn Daughter**,'" Remus read. "'Ministry Aurours arrived in Surrey last night to find a masked wizard in black torturing a family of muggles, having killed their daughter before the eyes of the parents as well as their three and seven year old children. The wizard fled the scene upon the arrival of Ministry officials, and escaped. The parents and children were treated at St. Mungo's and released with memory modification. Aurours link the crime to an earlier attack on a Muggleborn journalist by a similarly described wizard.'" Remus let the paper flutter to the stone ground beneath him with a sigh. "You're in a bad position, aren't you?"

He looked down at Remus, not understanding.

"I mean, you say this is going to be an all-out war. If that's right,"

"It is."

Remus nodded. "Then you're not on their side, if I know anything about you."

"But the Ministry and the good guys would never trust me," Sirius nodded. "Yeah. I know. But you? The Ministry wants to kill you, but Dark wizards would keep you alive until they had used you as a weapon until their 'purification' is in its deep stages, and kill you too, because silver blood isn't pure wizarding blood either, even if a wolf had been from a pureblood family. There aren't many pureblooded werewolves," Sirius said, "There never have been. And there aren't any squibs either. Do you want to know why?"

"They're killed?" Remus sat up.

Sirius nodded. "A 'respectable' mother will kill her child if it would shame the family. If she can't, she would probably abandon it in the muggle world and say it was dead."

"That's horrible!"

"Yep. That's why I don't want involved with all that shit. You know, everyone thinks I must be horrible because of my family, but compared to them, I'm a bloody saint, Remus."

He scowled, "If you're horrible, then the Slytherins must be sharing a dormitory with the devil himself."

Sirius smirked. "Does the devil have an abnormally large beak and greasy hair? Wears all black and hangs out in the library all day?"

"You know that's not the one I meant. I was talking about the blonde one."

"Ah." Sirius glared at what must have been an imagined picture of the tall, pale boy in his mind. "Malfoy."

"Doesn't Lucius remind you all too much of Lucifer?" Remus grinned.

"Oh yes. He's related, you know. He's more evil blood."

"To you? Or to Lucifer?"

"Me."

"Sirius-"

"I'm convinced that I was adopted," he said quickly, before Remus could point out that he was of that 'evil blood' too. "Hey. Look at this..." Sirius was staring at the underside of the desk, reading the names carved and burned into the wood. "I wonder who all these people are."

"Who knows, half of them are probably dead by now," Remus said, bored.

Sirius snorted. "You're optimistic," he rolled his eyes, and began to carve his own name in the wood.

"Whatever."

They had magicked the cauldrons clean halfway through the detention, and spent the next few hours lying around doing nothing. Sirius wandered to Slughorn's desk and began rummaging through the junk in his drawers. "Papers, grades...who's this?"" Sirius held up a picture of a young blonde witch, Slughorn, and a small child. "I didn't know the lard had a family. Poor kid."

"You're such a bastard," Remus laughed.

Sirius threw the frame back into the drawer and moved to the next one down. "What's this?"

Remus looked up with interest. Sirius was sitting in the teacher's chair, staring into the desk while his face began to turn colors.

"What's the matter with you? Is there a dead body in there or something?"

"Ah...better," Sirius grinned. "It's a body, alright, but it's much,_ much_ better."

Remus didn't blush, though. He laughed. "Oh Merlin," he cackled, "Professor Slughorn keeps his porn in his desk? I wouldn't sit there if I were you."

"Huh?"

"I mean, you don't know what acts of atrocity have been committed in that very chair, do you?"

"Circe! Remus, don't even _say_ that shit!" Sirius dropped the magazine, wiping his hands on the stone wall as he leapt from the chair. "Ew. Ew. _Ew._ Ew! _Ew!_"

"Hey, it's no worse than using the shower after Pete."

"_**EW**_!" Sirius curled into a ball in the corner, facing the wall shaking.

"Maybe we should stay on the other side of the room," Remus suggested.

Sirius nodded as he '_Scougriffied' _himself numerous times, letting his friend lead him away from the desk.

"I don't like this place anymore."


	8. Pudding Isn't Sexy, Marauders Are

Title: The Legacy

By: b e f r e e

Summary: Best friends are fleeting, but Marauders are forever. It takes seven years to build a friendship, and a single day to break it.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter or Harry Potter-related. It's all JKR's. If I owned it, I'd have something better to do than write fanfiction.

Warnings: **Spoilers!** For all books, including Deathly Hallows!

A/N: Wow, it's been a while since an update, but I'm done with finals now, so you can look forward to a lot more updates in the next few months. Please **Read **and **Review**! Thank you!

**The Legacy**

**Chapter Eight**

"So, how come you avoided my question?"

"What are you talking about?" Remus asked. Sirius hadn't even said good morning before he sat across from him at the breakfast table.

"Seriously, what are you talking about?" James asked.

Sirius grinned. "I asked Remy here if he's ever kissed a girl, and he avoided the question. That means that he's embarrassed that he hasn't or embarrassed that he has," Sirius grinned.

"So? Pete's never kissed anyone before," James laughed.

"Hey! He might not be handsome," interrupted Dorcas Meadows in the poor boy's defense, "But he's got…pudding in his hair," she finished lamely, and threw him a napkin. "Sorry, there's not much hope for you, is there?"

Peter turned bright red and ran out of the Hall to find a bathroom to wash his hair.

"But that still leaves the question," James smiled widely. "If Remus a terrible snogger, or has he never had a kiss?"

"Potter, unlike _you_, Remus could easily find someone to swap spit with."

"Dorrie, that is the disgusting compliment I've ever gotten," Remus replied, and dropped a forkful of eggs back onto his plate. "Thank you."

"It's true, though," Lily Evans chimed in, smiling. "I could name a few girls who've got their hearts set on you. It's the brains, I think."

"But not you, Evans, right?" Potter winked, and smoothed his hair back, only succeeding in messing it up more.

"Ew." She set her toast down and gathered her things, ignoring the rejected Potter's attempt at puppy-dog eyes.

The next moon wasn't far enough away for Remus, and it seemed like only days before he had landed himself back in the hospital wing. He was pretty beat-up when he took the floo into Pomfrey's office the morning after the moon. He couldn't feel his left hand, which was either a good sign, or a _very_ bad one. He had a feeling it was bad. Besides, he wasn't sure where he was bleeding from, but the pool beneath him was growing at an alarming rate.

"Merlin!"

Remus looked up and stared blankly into a pair of wide black eyes. They were crying. "Snape?" He clutched his own throat. It didn't sound right. But Snape was bleeding too. His arm was bent the wrong way and half his cheek had been ripped off. For a moment, Remus wondered if the wolf had gotten to him, but dismissed the thought as Snape stumbled into the room and fell forward. Remus tried to catch him, but only managed to break the fall a little and wind up on the ground himself. "Snape…" Remus tried to look up at him, but the boy's face was moving away from his own.

"Madame Pomfrey!"

Remus was vaguely aware of Snape insisting that she treat Remus first, and of the witch bustling about them both, the dividers between their beds gone so that she could work simultaneously.

He woke in the middle of the night, miraculously pain-free, and sat up. "Hello?"

"Lupin?"

He remembered Snape was there too. "Snape! What happened to you? Are you alright?"

"I am. But the better question; have you been run over by a bloody hippogriff?"

"I…I don't remember. What happened to you?"

"You _friends_ happened."

Remus remembered the bleeding gash in the side of his face when he arrived and stared across the dark infirmary. "They wouldn't-"

"They _did._"

"But surely they didn't mean to-"

"Black sent me against a wall and let Potter have free aim with a Slashing Hex. It was no accident." Snape turned over and faced the opposite wall.

"I'm sorry," Remus told him. "I really am."

Snape didn't move. He didn't seem to acknowledge that the other boy had said anything for a long time. Finally, he glanced back over. "I know. But you're the only one sorry and you have nothing to be sorry about."

Remus couldn't argue it. "It doesn't change the fact."

Snape was quiet for another moment. "I know," he repeated, quieter this time.

"What's up, Remus?"

The werewolf looked up to find the three Marauders strolling into the hospital wing after breakfast. "Guys, what are you doing here?"

"We wanted to come see how you were after-"

"Pete," Sirius growled, nodding at the closed curtain next to Remus' bed.

"After the accident," James finished. "Feeling any better yet?"

"Tons. You guys didn't have to come visit, though. You'll all be late for McGonagall and land a detention, you know."

Sirius shrugged. "Oh well," he grinned. "We'll bring lunch up and eat with you," he said, then motioned for the other two to follow him. They walked out, James and Sirius with matching strides and Peter struggling to keep up.

"You didn't tell them I was here?"

Remus reached over and pulled the curtain open. Snape looked even worse in the daylight and with a cluster of bruises rising to the surface of his pale neck.

"No, why would I have done that?"

Snape eyes him carefully and shook his head. Madame Pomfrey returned to the room with potions for each of them and made them drink up.

"Mine tastes like puréed brains and vomit," Remus grimaced. "How 'bout yours?"

"Like dusty chewing gum off the bottom of the Charms desks. With a hint of cinnamon," he added.

"Boys," Pomfrey sighed, "You know very well the old saying, that the worse a potion tastes, the more good it does."

"That's terrible, though. Why can't they just put some sugar in them and make them dissolve into tea or something?"

"Because sugar can cancel out the effects of many potion ingredients," Snape said matter-of-factly, as Pomfrey took the empty vial from his hands.

"Really?" She blinked in surprise. "I'd always wondered," she laughed. "Well, now. Mr. Snape, you should be set to leave as soon as that potion kicks in. Should take about ten minutes, so you can go ahead and start cleaning up. Remus, dear, you'll have to stay until dinnertime."

Snape emerged from behind his curtain a few minutes later in robes, and stepped into a pair of shoes. He took his wand and went to the mirror across the room. Remus watched in fascination as he applied a few glamour charms to his face and neck, expertly covering the bruises. Remus had the strange feeling that Snape did this often.

"I'll see you around," Remus said before he left.

Snape nodded silently, and left.

During detention that night (because Remus had been pulled into the Marauders' evening prank,) Remus asked Sirius about what they'd done to Snape.

"He called James something," Sirius shrugged.

"Was it that bad you had to attack him?"

"I don't know. Do I need an excuse, really?" he grinned. "Hey, forget about that. Look what James and I are trying to do."

Sirius began to show him their plan to create a two-way mirror to communicate over a distance.

"So it's like a floo call, kind of? Only you don't actually go there, you just appear there."

"Yeah. Muggles have these things called televisions, which records what people see through these camera things, and it's like a regular picture. It moves and stuff, only it has to be on a screen. They can set it up so you can see exactly what someone across the world is doing at the exact same time you're watching it. That's kind of what this is. As James and Peter are scrubbing floors, we'll be able to see them and talk to them through this."

"Ingenious," Remus grinned. "I didn't think you knew what a television was."

Sirius stuck his tongue out. "Well, we just don't know what kind of charm to use."

"What about the kind they use to make the ink transfer from one parchment to another?"

"Oh, the two-way messaging stationary?"

"Yeah. Instead of making the paper absorb ink, make the mirror absorb light. The sound part is easy, you know."

"Yeah, James has the charm written down for it."

"I know what book to check in for the other charm. I'll look next time I'm in the library."

Sirius grinned. "Hey, do you remember what Evans said the other day at breakfast?"

"'Potter's a disgusting prick'?"

"No. The other thing."

"'Potter's hair is worse than her neighbor's Pomeranian'?"

"No. The _other_ one. About the girls liking you."

"Oh. What about it?" Remus was starting to blush. "I think she was just trying to be nice."

Sirius shook his head. "Actually, I _overheard_ a couple of the third-year Ravenclaws talking-"

"You've been eavesdropping on the Ravenclaws?"

"Yeah, who cares? Just listen, they were talking about us. The Marauders."

"They call us the Marauders now?"

"Yeah, it's starting to catch on pretty big. But that's not important! The girls were talking about which one of us they like the best."

Remus didn't like the fact that this information was ill-gotten by spying on the unsuspecting girls, but too interested to know what they'd said to refuse the gossip. "And?"

"Well, none of them liked Peter at all," Sirius laughed. "And only one of them likes James, because the rest of them said he'd be alright if he wasn't so obsessed with Evans."

"And me?"

Sirius grinned. "They love us. They said I'm 'dreamy' and they think you being shy is 'adorable'. Their words, not mine. You might be interested to hear the non-Ravenclaw who has a crush on you."

"Who?"

"Jordan."

"Lewis' sister?"

"Yep. What's her name?"

"Lidia. Lidia Jordan has a crush on me? Sirius, if you're joking, I'm going to kill you."

"No joke, mate."

Lidia was a tiny, beautiful girl with long black hair and a deep tan. The thought that a girl like _her _could fancy _him_ thrilled him, but as Remus laid down to sleep that night he remembered the reason he'd never tried to get a girlfriend before.

_No one loves a monster_.

It was with that thought in his head, that he creeped out of his four-poster at two o'clock in the morning to wander the halls of Hogwarts.


	9. Girl Talk Boy Stupidity

Title: The Legacy,

By: b e f r e e

Summary: Best friends are fleeting, but Marauders are forever. It takes seven years to build a friendship, and a single day to break it. MWPP

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter or Harry Potter related. It's all JKR's. If I owned it, I'd have something better to do than write fanfiction.

Warnings: **Spoilers!** For all books, including Deathly Hallows. Rating will be M in later chapters.

A/N: So, I'm back! I've been writing later chapters from instead of the ones I should be writing. Oops! Haha. Now if I can just think of something to put between them. Enjoy!

**The Legacy**

**Chapter Nine**

Remus was lost. He had been wandering the halls of Hogwarts for over two hours now, and had given up trying to find a way back to the common room. Instead, he lit his wand and took to wandering a set of passages he'd never seen before. He was in the North tower, he knew, by the portraits' input and the occasional surprised statue. They didn't see many people around. Remus ran into only one person on his entire trip, and that happened to be the one person he _really _didn't want to find in a dark dungeon.

"Snape!"

"Shut the fuck up, you'll get us both caught, you idiot," he hissed. "Flitwick is right around the corner."

Remus nodded and whispered, "Nox," before he followed Snape's light footsteps out of the corridor. "Can I ask you something," Remus said tentatively, as they emerged in yet another unfamiliar hallway, "Where exactly are we?"

Snape smirked. "Lost?" he laughed dryly. "We're on the third floor, between the North Tower and the corridor that leads to the kitchens. Why on Earth are you wandering the castle without any direction at all?"

Remus shrugged. "Why are you out here, anyways?" he countered.

Snape narrowed his eyes. "Goodnight, Lupin," he said tightly.

"And you."

The report on the front page of the _Prophet_ was unmistakably foreboding; **Army of Masked Wizards Attack Muggle London, Murder Dozens, Leave Sign.**

Sirius threw Remus an 'I told you so' glance, and began to play with the food on his plate while everyone at the table around him talked about the tragedy. Remus was tired, having wandered the corridors aimlessly the night before, but he was half-paying attention to the conversations around him.

"I don't understand why these people would do it," Lily Evans was saying, "It's just a bunch of innocent muggles, why should they be killed? And _read_ this! Children, parents, elderly, even _pets_!"

"'S' not right," Peter mumbled through his eggs and toast.

"Hey, Dumbledore looks like he's going to say something," James said suddenly. The Headmaster was standing up, wand in hand. He set off a few firecrackers to get the Hall's attention and silence, and cleared his throat.

"Students, as many of you are aware, there has been a recent attack on the muggle community. The _Prophet_ will tell you all the gory details, but the important part is that sixty-seven muggles were killed yesterday." Dumbledore let silence fill the Hall for a few moments before continuing, "The Ministry of Magic does not wish for me to inform you all of this, but the attacks were carried out by a band of wizards who use torture, Unforgivables, and murder to invoke fear in their victims. They call themselves Death Eaters, and work for a man who calls himself Lord Voldemort. What these wizards are doing is _unacceptable_, and I urge anyone in this Hall with even the slightest bit of information about these wizards to come forward." Dumbledore's voice had risen a bit, but he told his last point calmly. "The Ministry believes that the Death Eaters will attempt to strike the wizarding community with a similar attack. I do not say this in attempt to create fear, but awareness. I'm also sorry to tell you that for your safety, I have canceled this weekend's Hogsmeade trip."

The hall broke out in objection, but Dumbledore stepped down with a finality that made even the loudest protesters reduce to disproving mumbles. The breakfast post arrived moments later, and the noise of angry upperclassmen was drowned in the sounds of flapping wings and screeches.

"Remus, it's for you," Peter threw him an envelope.

"Secret admirer, eh Rem?" Sirius grinned.

"Yeah, McGonogall. She wants me to meet her in her office before lunch."

"What's that about?"

"No idea."

"Mr. Lupin," McGonagoll greeted him when he approached the open office door. "Come in. Sit down, would you like some tea?"

"No thank you, Professor. What is it that you called me for?"

The woman sat down across from him and sighed, "It has come to my attention lately that your friends have been a little extra harsh on one of your fellow students. He has not come to any teacher yet, but he does make quite regular visits to the hospital wing."

"I've never shot a hex at Snape, Professor."

"I know. I also know that it's Potter and Black, and Pettigrew to an extent, doing all of the damage. I will only ask you a favor, and that is to try to convince your friends to do something else with their time. I know that you cannot stop all of their schemes, and I will be perfectly understanding if there is an increase in property damage as a result of their mischief being redirected, but for the sake of Mr. Snape, I'm willing to accept that."

"There is little I can do. They get their minds set on something, and they don't forget. Aside from that," Remus sighed, "I will try."

"Thank you. Remember, you still have a night of detention left. Slughorn will be busy, so you'll be with me tonight. Pass the word along, if you will."

"Yes, Professor."

Remus left and hurried on to his Charms lesson.

Peter, James, and Sirius had already sat down together, so Remus went to work with Dorrie and Marlene.

"Remus, have the Marauders finally let you go?" Dorrie smiled, moving over to make room for him to sit.

"Yes, they've been such a pain," Remus smiled. "I was hoping you girls won't get in as much detention as them."

"That's a given."

They stopped talking as Flitwick stood up to lecture, and Marlene started passing a piece of parchment around instead.

'_Look at Pettigrew's nose. There's a HUGE pimple growing out of it!'_

Dorrie grabbed the note from Marlene and snuck a look over at the Marauders.

'**I can't see him through Potter's big head.'**

'Trust me, It's ridiculously large. He popped it in the bathroom this morning and it exploded all over the mirror. It was more disgusting than when Lewis Jordan stepped on that Flobberworm.'

Dorrie read the note and scrunched up her face, making a gagging sign with her finger.

'_Ew!'_

'**Speaking of disgusting, have you heard who's got caught in the corridors last night?'**

'_Who?'_

'**Mary MacDonald and Scott Avery.'**

"Merlin," Dorrie whispered, and started writing again. _'Who caught them? And exactly what were they doing?'_

Remus caught the paper between the girls and smiled as he picked up his quill. 'They were snogging, obviously. Ogg caught them.

'_That's gross! That old man probably gets his jollies on catching students, you know.'_

Remus quickly slid the paper back to Marlene without comment, but he had to cough to cover up his laughter.

'**Don't say things like that, Remus is going to asphyxiate. You have a good point, though.'**

'I'm not asphyxiating."

'_Right, you're just going purple.'_

"So, Remus, getting cozy with the girls, yeah?

He smiled. "It was enlightening. Like a slumber party in Charms. We talked about Peter's pimple, then MacDonald and Avery snogging in the hallway, Ogg jerking off to it, and how dreamy Sirius' eyes are."

They other three looked at him with wide eyes. "Really?"

"No. Well, the part about Pete's pimple, yes."

"And the part about my eyes," Sirius grinned.

"Mary and Scott. really?" James asked.

"Crazy weird, isn't it. They're the last two people in Hogwarts I'd think would hook up."

"And the part about Ogg? You didn't really say that in front of the girls, Remus."

"How do you know they didn't say it in front of me?"

All three boys stopped walking, and Remus left them standing behind him in the middle of the hallways, dumbfounded.

Remus was the least likely of any of them to ever find a girlfriend, and the only one who really understood them.

James was still harassing him about the girls that evening when they showed up for detention. "Come on, tell me what they said about _us_," he whined. "Did they think I'm cool?" he asked, running his hand through his hair to mess it up.

"They think you need to comb your hair," Remus told him with his best poker face.

James quickly tried to un-mess his hair and crossed his arms. "Oh well, I only really care what Lily thinks. How come all the girls like hanging out with _you_ anyways? They're all over Sirius, you know, but they all think he's _dreamy_ and _handsome_."

"So you don't think it's possible they all think _I'm_ dreamy and handsome too, Potter?"

James opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again before he spoke, flustered, "That's not – I mean, they just don't seem to like Sirius as much, you know? And all of them – the girls, that is – they talk about Sirius so much and-"

"James, will you shut up already? Did you ever think that maybe the girls who like me are the nerdy quiet ones and just don't' talk as loud?"

"I never thought o' that."

"Of course, which is why I'm smarter than you."

"Shut up and clean your rat cages," James huffed. "And will you just…put in a good word for me next time you talk to the girls? They talk to Lily too, you know, and maybe _they_ could convince her to go out with me."

"I doubt that."

"Anything's worth a shot," James said hopefully.

Remus decided it was best to let him think that.

He found Snape again, about a week later trying to sneak out of the hospital wing at night. Earlier in the day, Remus had watched as Sirius put a body-binding spell on Snape and James shot a _Furnunculus_ at him. The Slytherin still had a couple of ugly boils on the left side of his face, and it wasn't pretty.

"You again!"

Remus stopped dead in his tracks. He'd meant to visit the boy, actually. Remus had brought a bag of Bertie Botts to leave with him, but had meant to do so while Snape was asleep, as an anonymous 'sorry my friends bully you' gesture.

"Shouldn't you be in the hospital wing?" Remus asked, wide-eyed.

"No. Now_ get out of my way_."

Remus knew it was going to piss him off, but he stood his ground. "You can hardly stand," he said, crossing his arms. Snape was swaying precariously at the top of the stairway. "Has Pomfrey given you a sleeping draught?" His eyes were barely slits.

"_Yes_," Snape growled. "But right now I'm awake, and I'd like to go back to my dormitory. Now _move_."

Remus sighed. Snape wasn't going to make it down there if he tried, so Remus let him pass and stood motionless on the stairs. Snape took one step at a time, clutching the railing and the walls, and Remus waited until he rounded the corner to go after him. He hid behind the other boy until he reached the end of the corridor and stopped suddenly, sinking to the ground. Remus waited a moment, and when Snape didn't move again he rushed over to find him unconscious once more.

"You're an idiot, Snape," he scowled, and lifted the Slytherin up bridal style to carry him back to the infirmary.

Pomfrey hadn't noticed his absence, Remus noted, and set Snape back down on the bed that looked recently used. Remus set the bag of Bertie Botts Beans on his bedside table and reset Pomfrey's wards that Snape appeared to have broken. "Happy bloody Halloween."


End file.
